KOTA BARU: The federal government is doing its best to curb 'cartel projects' in the construction and building industry, said Datuk Mohd Rosdi Ab Aziz.
The Malaysia Malay Contractors Association president said this would help small contractors, especially those in the G1 to G4 groups, who have faced difficulties in getting projects for many years.
"In the context of the construction and building industry, a cartel can be formed by contractors, builders, suppliers, and other stakeholders who collude to manipulate the bidding process, allocate contracts among themselves, and inflate prices.
"The government has realised the existence of cartel projects in the construction and building industry and has taken necessary measures to eliminate them.
"This is evident in the government's latest effort to introduce bidding programs aimed at expediting the maintenance of federal roads," he told a press conference today.
This would benefit many parties, including contractors, the public, and the government.
"The association would like to thank the government as well as the finance ministry for introducing the bidding programs.
"It is not easy for the government to eradicate cartel projects, but this new initiative will help to reduce their number, provide opportunities to contractors, and also boost the country's economic growth," he added.
Mohd Rosdi, who is also the association's president for the Kelantan chapter, said there are more than 140,000 contractors in the country, with 80 percent of them from the G1 to G4 groups.
"The government is acting fairly towards these contractors by implementing the bidding programmes. Many of them will be happy as they are given the chance to participate in the bidding programmes.
"Previously, some of them were forced to leave the industry due to the lack of projects they received from the government," he added.
In Kelantan alone, he said a total of 7,000 contractors have registered with the association.