PETALING JAYA: There are hundreds of companies involved in bid rigging during public procurement believed to be valued at more than RM2bil.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said such conduct in public procurement was an open secret that had been exposed many times.
“The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) is doing its job but there are still quite a number of companies ... in the hundreds,” he said after launching the Third Malaysia Competition Law Conference 2022 themed “Digital Economy, Merger and Bid Rigging” here yesterday.
Nanta, who represented Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob at the launch, read out the keynote speech where bid rigging was said to pose a big threat to public procurement in terms of leakages.It was later revealed to The Star by MyCC chief executive officer Iskandar Ismail that MyCC was currently investigating 20 cases – involving 500 companies – for suspected bid rigging in public tenders valued at over RM2bil.
On Wednesday, MyCC said in a statement that parties found implicated in bid rigging conduct in public procurement would be blacklisted by the Finance Ministry for five years.
Meanwhile, on the issue of a chicken cartel, Nanta said the MyCC task force set up to investigate the matter was in the final stage of producing its report and would be ready to table it to the relevant board this month.
Asked about the “war” between the government and the chicken industry players, the minister denied the claim, saying that it was just a perception.
“The surge in demand has caused prices to increase but the government did not allow it to happen, even though some industry players perhaps wanted to recoup their losses during the pandemic.
“We understand the industry but let us also be concerned about the consumers, which is why we have imposed the chicken price cap for a long period.
“But at the same time, we do not want to jeopardise the industry, which is why the price cap is going to end. So it is wrong to say we are at war,” he said, adding that striking a balance between all relevant parties was not easy.
Nanta also noted the amendment to the Competition Act 2010 to ensure it remained comprehensive and aligned with global practices.
As such, he said, the amendment to the Act would see a greater focus and authority on mergers and acquisitions, which caused monopolies and cartels.
“The amendment is very much in step with time and requirements as far as MyCC is concerned,” he said.
