KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) is actively investigating 13 cases of alleged bid rigging cartels involving 561 enterprises with a value of up to RM2.3 billion, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali disclosed that, beginning in 2024, MyCC has been implementing a specific strategy to enhance enforcement against bid rigging cartels, a long-standing form of cartel activity.
He said efforts to curb the activity were important to ensure that it did not thwart the government’s efforts in prioritising tender methods in transparent procurement governance in line with the MADANI Government’s efforts to strengthen the governance of the public service delivery system.
“The actions taken against companies that implement anti-competitive practices reflect the government’s commitment to creating a healthy competitive ecosystem in the market.
“This will contribute to the country’s economic growth and improve quality, create a choice and reasonable prices of goods and competitive services for the benefit of consumers,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was replying to a question from William Leong Jee Keen (PH-Selayang) regarding ??the effectiveness of MyCC in enforcing the Competition Act 2010 (Act 712) and the number of investigations that have led to successful prosecutions and convictions for the period 2014 to 2024.
Among the sectors involved in bid rigging are services, utilities, construction, food and beverage and information technology.
Elaborating further, Armizan said that since Act 712 came into effect, MyCC as an independent and quasi-judicial body in Malaysia, has conducted investigations into 339 enterprises across various industries including transportation, manufacturing, food, services, education, insurance, agriculture and public procurement.
He said that as a result of the investigation, MyCC has issued findings of violations under Section 40 of the Act 712 involving 14 cases covering 259 enterprises.
“A total of 257 enterprises were found to be involved in cartel activities and two enterprises were found to have abused their monopoly position. These decisions have resulted in financial penalties of RM571.5 million,” he said.
Responding to a supplementary question from Leong on the steps taken by the government to strengthen Act 712, Armizan said the ministry is currently in the process of amending the act, particularly in the context of strengthening and streamlining the enforcement process and introducing a merger control regime.
“The draft amendment has been approved by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and the ministry is circulating it to other ministries for feedback. Insya-Allah, we hope that at the end of this sitting we will at least be able to table it for the first reading,” he said.
