Tesco Malaysia rejects allegations that it supports Israel

Tesco Malaysia today stressed that it had never channeled its sales revenue or profit from its supermarkets to support Israel, as claimed by various quarters.

Tesco Malaysia's Government Relations and Corporate Affairs director, Azlam Shah Alias said as a company that has been public-listed as non-political, it is fully compliant to the policy not to make any form of political donations and sponsorships.

"Any allegations that claim otherwise will be considered as defamatory.

"Tesco plc, based in the United Kingdom, is a public-listed company and is owned by shareholders from around the world.

"One of our core values is to conduct business responsibly and ethically, and we adhere to this principle," he said in a statement posted on the company's Facebook page.

Azlam Shah said Tesco offers job opportunities to more than 11,000 Malaysians and has over 3,000 local supplies including from the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

"Apart from that, we also support meaningful programmes to assist the less fortunate, especially during Ramadan and Aidilfitri, through our recent 'Kasih Ramadan' programme," he said.

Recently, Tesco faced heavy criticism from social media users with calls to boycott the company for its alleged link with Israel.