MYCC IMPOSES RM97.3 MLN IN PENALTIES ON 26 COMPANIES FOR BID-RIGGING CARTEL

PETALING JAYA, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) has imposed penalties totalling RM97.3 million on 26 companies for operating a bid-rigging cartel related to tenders worth RM540.72 million.

The Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, revealed that MyCC is currently investigating 14 other bid-rigging cases involving 563 companies, linked to tenders worth RM2.7 billion.

He said the high number of cases uncovered by MyCC's enforcement actions demonstrated the need for greater resources, which were approved in the 2026 Budget announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"A portion of the KPDN's allocation was assigned to MyCC specifically to boost its enforcement capacity in the crucial fight against bid-rigging," he said after officiating the MyCC Competition Summit 2025, themed “Strengthening Competition Through the ‘G’ in ESG for a Sustainable Future,” at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre today.

The summit also featured the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between MyCC and the Philippine Competition Commission, as well as SME Corporation Malaysia.

These agreements established cooperation in information exchange, advocacy, training programmes, research and the sharing of experiences and best practices.

Armizan also called on MyCC to take the next step by extending its enforcement against bid-rigging to the private sector next year, given that the sector provides goods and services to the public.

"To date, the focus has been on tenders within government procurement. However, in 2026, we must also pioneer efforts by scrutinising tenders in the private sector.

"If we do not curb bid-rigging in the private sector, it will negatively impact the public and harm the ecosystem of healthy market competition," he said.

On a related note, Armizan said KPDN is assisting in coordinating the signing of a Letter of Understanding (LoU) between MyCC and 16 other ministries to combat bid-rigging cartels.

"This cooperation between MyCC and the ministries is to eradicate bid-rigging cartels and ensure a transparent and fair competitive process for government contract procurement," he said.

Regarding today's summit, Armizan noted that the guest panel included nine high-profile representatives from international competition authorities.

These included delegates from the Turkish Competition Authority, Korea Fair Trade Commission, Hong Kong Competition Commission and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

He added that the local expert panel featured representatives from the Ministry of Finance, PETRONAS, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Bursa Malaysia, SME Corporation Malaysia and Bank Negara Malaysia.

"The discussions focused on two key areas: combating bid-rigging and improving governance in merger transactions through the merger control regime.

"Both of these issues can undermine efforts to create a healthy, sustainable and progressive market, which in turn affects the well-being of the public as a whole," he said.

-- BERNAMA