PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) has fined seven companies a combined sum of RM446,093 for participating in a bid-rigging cartel involving tenders from the Defence Ministry (Mindef) between 2017 and 2020. The tenders, totalling RM20mil, were awarded in four separate bids.
The companies involved include Agenda Eksklusif Sdn Bhd (AESB), Star Apex Enterprise (SAE), Nekad Waja Resources (NWR), Spectron Sdn Bhd (SSB), Teknokrat Makmur Enterprise (TME), Prospectrum Sdn Bhd (PSB) and NK Panorama Enterprise (NKPE).
In a statement, MyCC, an agency under the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, said investigations found that these companies worked together in two separate cartels to manipulate tender outcomes by setting coordinated bid prices.
AESB was identified as the key player in one of the cartels, actively orchestrating the bidding strategies in all four tenders.
AESB faced the highest penalty, amounting to RM272,129. SAE was fined RM109,701, and SSB, RM43,889, while the remaining companies were given smaller fines.
Additionally, NWR and NKPE were ordered to deposit a bond of good behaviour of RM5,000 each with MyCC for a period of three years.
MyCC chief executive officer Iskandar Ismail said that bid-rigging cartels have long undermined public procurement, wasting public funds.
As such, he said MyCC is now investigating a suspected 13 bid-rigging cartels involving 561 enterprises in tenders worth RM2.37bil and assessing complaints involving 463 enterprises in tenders worth RM9.27bil.
“I want to emphasise that our investigation targeted the enterprises involved in this infringement, not Mindef. Mindef was manipulated by these cartels,” he explained.
