KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) has denied that it is investigating certain politicians in connection with cartel operations in the poultry industry.

       Its chief executive officer Iskandar Ismail said ongoing investigations only focus on a group of poultry industry players whose actions may raise certain concern under Section 4 of the Competition Act.

       “The claim that the MyCC is investigating certain politicians is mere speculation,” he said in a statement.

       Iskandar said there was also confusion among the public on the definition of “cartel” under the Act.

       “A cartel is formed through a confidential agreement between competitors in the same market.

       “Before any cartel is created, there must be at least two competitors who agree not to compete with each other in the related market.

       “Usually, this competitor group had agreed, among other things, to fix the products at the same price or to divide their market or to limit production,” he added.

       Iskandar said a cartel was not a monopoly and vice versa, as a monopoly was an enterprise that had full control of a product or service.

       “If there is more than one player in the market, one or more than one enterprise can be in a dominant position if they hold about 60% of the market.

       “So trying to equate a cartel and a monopoly as similar, is completely wrong,” he said, reported Bernama.

       As such, he said, MyCC hoped that the public and the media understand the complexity of the investigation which involved several players in the supply chain.

       “A thorough investigation is needed and this may take time.

       “We encourage those who feel they are involved in cartel practices in the poultry industry to come forward to apply for leniency under Section 41 of the Act before they are investigated,” he said, while urging all parties to refrain from speculating to avoid disruption to the MyCC investigation and raise confusion among the public.

       Enterprises, related stakeholders and the public are encouraged to assist investigations by contacting MyCC at 03-2273 2277 (IED) or email to complaints@mycc.gov.my.

       According to an earlier report, cartels continued to dominate the poultry industry due to political interference.

       The report also stated that cartels also controlled the daily market of 1.5 million chickens, which is 70% of the total 2.2 million chickens sold nationwide daily.