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KUALA LUMPUR- The Competition Act 2010, which will come into force on Jan 1, 2012, will promote a competitive environment and give foreign investors more confidence in the country's business practices. News from Bernama, July 5, 2010.
The Act will govern all firms, including government-linked companies (GLCs).
Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, said the Act would give foreign investors more confidence as it would now be a level playing field for industry players.
"With this Act, the industry's perception that GLCs have always been protected by the government will be erased.
"This will ensure a fair and healthy competition. All will be protected, including the small and medium enterprises (SMEs)," he told a media briefing at the Dewan Rakyat here Monday.
Sabri said the government was serious in educating the business fraternity on the law which was well-received by industry players, although the GLCs did not agree to it initially.
The Act, which was passed in Dewan Rakyat in May, was gazetted on June 10.
It will have two major prohibitions -- anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant positions.
Anti-competitive agreements include price fixing, import cartel, bid rigging, territorial allocation, limiting production, market sharing.
The abuse of dominant position includes predatory pricing, price discrimination, excessive pricing and denying market access.
The law promotes the efficient functioning of the markets which will benefit consumers in terms of lower prices and better choices.
It will safeguard against practices that could drive companies out of businesses, allow lower entry barriers to promote entrepreneurship and growth of SMEs, efficient allocation and utilisation of resources and control international unfair competition and restrictive business practices such as international cartels.
"We are not talking about anti-monopoly here. The law emphasises on the abuse of monopoly in the market and anti-cartel," he said.
Yaakob said an independent Competition Commission and Competition Appeals Tribunal would be set up over the next 18 months.
"The members of the competition commission will be appointed by the Prime Minister on the recommendations of the minister while the tribunal will be headed by a judge.
"We are currently structuring the operational framework for the commission and the tribunal," he said.
He, however, said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Energy Commission of Malaysia would not come under the Act.
The Competition Commission will comprise a chairman, four members representing the government and not less than three and not more than five experienced representatives, while the tribunal will comprise seven to 20 members.
Sabri said the commission would act based on -- complaints by the industry, the commission's own initiative to review and the directive by the minister.
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