KLANG: The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) busted seven warehouse operators for being involved in a price-fixing cartel in relation to handling services of import and export cargo at Port Klang.

       MyCC slapped the seven companies with fines ranging between RM26,363 to RM336,369 which collectively amounted to a total of RM1,043,012.

       In a statement yesterday, MyCC said the penalty did not exceed 10% of the respective companies’ global turnover.

       "In the process of determining the penalty, MyCC has considered the impact of the current economic situation together with the presence of mitigation and aggravating factors in the case," said the statement.

       The statement noted investigations, conducted between May 2017 and December 2019, revealed the operators had formed a cartel and conspired to fix the surcharges for the handling service of long length and heavy lift cargoes amongst themselves.

       The operators, who were all competitors in the warehouse services market, had also apparently signed a memorandum agreeing to collectively charge a rate agreed upon by all of them beginning June 1, 2017.

       "In any rate, the cartel is the supreme evil of competition law. All competition agencies in the world have the same view including MyCC.

       "As such, MyCC has always given high priority to the investigation and punishment of anti-competitive agreements, especially price and quota cartels, customer or territorial allocation agreements and bid rigging too.

       "The perpetrators of these cartels, quite literally, are stealing money from the pocket of businesses and consumers,” said MyCC chief executive officer Iskandar Ismail.

       He added the outcome of the case would be a clear message to industry players that MyCC would not tolerate such conduct which was an act of sabotage to the open market economy.

       Iskandar also said other operators involved in similar cartels should approach MyCC through its leniency regime application or any other scheme provided under the Competition Act.

       "MyCC’s door is always open for parties who may want to seek redemption,” said Iskandar.