The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) is currently actively investigating 13 cases involving bid-rigging cartel groups, involving 561 companies with a total amount of 2.3 billion Ringgit.
The Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, Datuk Armizan, stated that starting from 2024, the commission has launched a specialized strategy to strengthen the enforcement against long-standing cartel activities, one of which is bid-rigging collusion.
He pointed out that curbing such activities is an important part of ensuring that government efforts to prioritize tendering processes in procurement management are not undermined, aligning with the aim of the Unity Government to strengthen the public service governance system.
He said during a Q&A session in the House of Representatives, in response to a question by Pakatan Harapan's Member of Parliament Liang Zhi-Qian from Selayang: “The actions taken by the government against companies engaging in anti-competitive behavior reflect the government's commitment to fostering a healthy market competition ecosystem.
“This not only aids in the nation's economic growth but also enhances the quality of goods and services, creates more choices and reasonable prices, and provides competitive services to protect consumers' interests.”
Liang Zhi-Qian requested the Ministry of Domestic Trade to explain the effectiveness of implementing the 2010 Competition Act, as well as the number of cases successfully prosecuted and convicted between 2014 and 2024.
The areas involved in bid-rigging include services, utilities, construction, food & beverages, and information technology.
Armizan continued, saying that since the Competition Act came into force, the competition commission, as a semi-judicial agency independent in Malaysia, has investigated 339 companies involving various industries, including transportation, manufacturing, food, services, education, insurance, agriculture, and public procurement fields.
He pointed out that based on the investigation results, the commission has issued conclusions of infringement under Section 40 of the Act, involving a total of 14 cases covering 259 companies.
“Among them, 257 companies were involved in cartel activities, while two companies were found to have abused their dominant positions. All these decisions have resulted in fines totaling 571.5 million Ringgit.”
Moreover, Armizan pointed out that the ministry is currently amending the Competition Act, focusing on strengthening and optimizing enforcement procedures and introducing a merger control mechanism.
“The amendment draft has been approved by the Attorney General's Chambers and is currently being circulated to relevant departments for feedback. If all goes well, we hope to present it for the first reading before the end of this session.”