KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) is expected to table amendments to the Competition Act 2010 (Act 712) and the Competition Commission Act 2010 (Act 713) in Parliament this year, said the Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh.
She said the amendments to the two laws will further strengthen MyCC as an agency under the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) to protect the competition process as well as deal with cartels that hurt the price of goods and the cost of living.
Through the amendments to Act 712 and Act 713, the power of investigation and enforcement to achieve the conclusion of the investigation and the issuance of a decision can be implemented more efficiently.
"The amendments of the two laws will also introduce the merger control regime which will empower MyCC to impose early intervention measures against the formation of new cartels or monopolies through the regulation of merger activities.
"MyCC has made the food and agriculture sectors the main focus of Act 712 enforce
ment since last year. It will act firmly without fear and favour against any company in these two sectors if they are involved in cartels or abuse their dominance," she said during a question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
She said this in her reply to a question from Datuk Rosol Wahid (PN-Hulu Terengganu) who asked to what extent MyCC had played an effective role, particularly in dealing with cartel problems in the local distribution chain and the importation of food-based products.
She added that since the establishment of MyCC in 2011, the agency has imposed financial penalties on more than 250 companies for cartel-related violations and abuse of dominant power with a total financial penalty of more than RM500 million.
She said the agency was also investigating more than 500 companies suspected of being involved in cartel activities related to price fixing and bid rigging.
MyCC is in the process of increasing its strength in terms of capacity through a budget increase of RM10 million which was approved in the recent budget.
Responding to a supplementary question from Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) who asked about the latest status of whether MyCC has conducted an investigation related to the rice cartel issue, Fuziah said the agency has started a study to identify if there is a competition issue along the supply chain involving padi and rice.