MORE than 500 companies are on the “radar” of the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) for allegedly building “cartels” to bid for government tender projects.
Among the modus operandi used is for the company owner to marry four wives to build his empire and use his wives’ and relatives’ names as proxies.
According to reports in Sinar Harian, MyCC chief executive officer Iskandar Ismail said these companies were detected trying to manipulate tender offers.
“Among their modus operandi is to complot and conspire among each other and submit numerous tenders ... for example, 50 companies would send in tender bids at a time.
“Following that, they would fill up the required forms together and also go for the required site visits.
“They would then ‘determine’ who is the winner by agreeing on the tender price and then distribute it among themselves as if the government tender is their ‘property’,” he said.
By marrying four wives, Iskandar said it was one of the methods used by company owners to build their empires.
“Company A will be held by the first father-in-law, company B will be held by the second father-in-law, company C will be owned by the sister-in-law, company D will be held by their nephew, other companies will be held by the wives.
“This way, they can create an empire with 50 companies bidding together,” he said.
He stressed that the government is opening tenders to qualified parties to get the best company that can offer quality services at a reasonable and competitive price.
However, he said the actions of the companies involved only create an illusion as if their price offer is the best, thereby affecting the opportunities of other companies that are truly capable.
In addition to fraudulent government contract bids, he said MyCC also monitors activities involving cartel companies related to food and agriculture supplies.
However, he admitted that they faced constraints because the investigation process might take longer as they had to gather strong evidence before presenting it to the relevant bodies. – The Vibes, December 27, 2023
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