Under proposed amendments to the Competition Act 2010, companies that merged without approval can be ordered to demerge and pay a fine.
Domestic trade and consumer affairs minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said unlike other countries, Malaysia’s Competition Act 2010 does not give power to the MyCC to control mergers and acquisitions of companies which could then lead to the creation of a monopolistic entity in the country. “Companies that merged without approval can be ordered to demerge and can also be fined,” he said in a statement today in response to the suggestions by PKR MPs Nurul Izzah Anwar and Wong Chen for the competition law in the country to be reviewed based on the monopolistic practices of certain companies.
Nanta said the MyCC had also taken action against several companies, such as MyEG Services Sdn Bhd, DagangNet Sdn Bhd, Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia, after finding them violating the competition regulations, either through agreements, a cartel, abuse of dominant power or a monopoly.