Do you participate in government tenders? Are you aware of the laws governing public procurement in Malaysia? If you do, the discussion below will apply to you.

In conjunction with the tabling of Revised Budget 2023 on 24 February 2023, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, unveiled the government’s plan to facilitate the listing of dual-class shares on Bursa Malaysia as part of its strategic efforts to promote the listing of local high-growth technology companies on the Malaysian bourse.

Previously, we discussed the basics of bid rigging, including the common forms of bid rigging and the consequences it may bring about.

In this session, we dig deeper into the approach taken by the competition authority in Malaysia, as well as some other jurisdictions when it comes to bid rigging.

Last month, 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd announced that it has agreed to dispose of its entire 75% stake in Caring Pharmacy Group Bhd to BIG Pharmacy Healthcare Sdn Bhd for RM637.5 million. The acquisition includes all of Caring’s subsidiaries and associate companies, as well as its manufacturing and distribution of in-house products in Malaysia.

On 15 June 2023, the Malaysia Parliament passed the Health White Paper prepared by the Ministry of Health. The Health White Paper highlights the need for reform towards a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient health system and proposes reforms covering key areas such as service delivery, promotive and preventive approaches, financing, human resources for health and system governance over a 15-year period.

In recent years, the Malaysian government and the Malaysian Competition Commission (“MyCC”) have been amping up their efforts to address and combat bid rigging,[1] a problem perceived as rampant in government procurement exercises.
In fact, the crack of MyCC’s whip is sounding louder than ever.

Of late, the war cry against monopolies in Malaysia, led by the newly minted Pakatan Harapan administration in line with their election manifesto, has been resounding. On 24 March 2023, Malaysia’s new Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, announced that the government is reviewing all existing monopolies to ensure that the public enjoy fair and better service.

The recent decision of the Tribunal is an interesting development to Malaysian competition law as it attempts to reconcile a safe harbour agreement deemed not significant by the MyCC in its own Guideline on Chapter 1 Prohibition (“Guideline”), with an agreement where its impact is deemed significant under Section 4(2) of the CA.

The complaint from the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (“FOMCA”) on Touch ‘n Go’s (“TnG”) monopolistic abuses on consumers and the response from Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”) reveal confusion among consumers about the jurisdiction over consumer protection issues in Malaysia. Although competition policy and consumer policy have different approaches to the market, they share a common goal of enhancing consumer welfare.

Environmental sustainability and climate change have become increasingly important agendas for businesses and governments locally and globally.