KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) revealed that more than 3,000 companies are being investigated for allegedly rigging tenders worth approximately RM5.8 billion.
Its chief executive officer Iskandar Ismail said that the commission is cracking down on the unlawful practice by targeting 400 companies that are involved in both public and private projects in various states, The Star reported.
“The companies are related to many types of products and services related to agricultural, services, construction, technology and infrastructure,” he said.
Iskandar said that MyCC has received complaints from various parties including government agencies, members of public and anonymous individuals.
“This is part of an ongoing fight against bid-rigging cartels and we are working closely with other agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Finance Ministry, Internal Revenue Board, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry and even commercial banks,” he said.
On March 24, the English daily reported that since 2014, MyCC has fined various companies over RM160 millions in penalties, including eight information technology firms allegedly involved in tender activities.
The report stated that MyCC has the power to investigate and punish bid-rigging activities by cartels under Section 4 of the Competition Act 2010.
The report also pointed that MACC earlier this month had announced its success in bringing down a ‘project cartel’ believed to have monopolised a total of 354 tenders involving projects from several ministries and government agencies worth RM3.8 billion since 2014.
Around 150 firms were used in rotation to win tenders or quotations issued by ministries and government agencies, with MACC arresting seven suspects, including a Datuk.
MACC’s investigations revealed that almost all the companies had used false academic qualifications, professional certificates and financial statements to convince tender boards of the companies’ ability to implement the project.
Iskandar said that MyCC decided to focus on public procurement from its establishment as leakages are well known.
“A lot of research shows that governments all over the world (including Malaysia) lose at least 25 per cent of their money due to bid-rigging, and many projects are not completed or result in low quality products or services.
“It (bid-rigging) even reduces the number of genuine bidders in the market as these players feel that the cartel has created barriers against them winning tenders,” he said.
