Justice Leong Wai Hong said J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd failed to prove the three elements of defamation in its suit against Azmin.

The judge said the company must prove that the defendant’s statements referred to it, that there was publication of the defamatory content, and that the impugned remarks were defamatory.

However, Leong said Deepak Jaikishan, whom Azmin referred to several times in his remarks, was neither a director nor shareholder of the company.

“The suit is hereby dismissed with costs of RM50,000,” he said in his ruling.

Last year, J&E sued Azmin over comments which the company said inferred that it had obtained a contract through direct negotiation with the government to import eggs from India as a temporary measure to meet a domestic shortage.

The company sought an injunction to prevent Azmin from repeating the comments, and general, aggravated, and exemplary damages and costs.

Meanwhile, Azmin denied defaming the company and claimed that his speech was fair comment on a matter of public interest.

He said that he had not named the company, whether directly or indirectly, and was merely criticising the government’s policies during a ceramah in March 2023.

Azmin was the Bukit Antarabangsa state assemblyman, Selangor legislative assembly opposition leader and Perikatan Nasional information chief at the time.

Lawyer Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid represented Azmin and Bhavanash Sharma acted for the company.