ADVOCACY PERIOD TO EDUCATE BUSINESS CIRCLE ON COMPETITION ACT

KUCHING (Sarawak, Malaysia), Oct 19 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Domestic Trade,
Cooperatives and Consumerism's Interim Competition Commission Unit, has been
given an 18-month advocacy period to educate the business community on the
Competition Act 2010, its head, Shila Dorai Raj said Tuesday.

She said it would enable business enterprises, including multinationals and
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to put in place their operations and
commercial activities before the Act is enforced on Jan 1, 2012.

"We will take a "light touch" approach for a while until everybody
understands the benefits of the Act in creating a competitive market environment
while providing a level playing field for industry players," she added.

She was speaking at the Goods and Services tax (GST) in Malaysia and Competiton
Act Introductory Seminar here.

According to Sheila, the Act, would prohibit anti-competitive agreements and
abuse of dominant positions such as through monopolistic actitives.

However, she added, it would not take away the government's authority to grant
import permit (AP) licenses.

She also said the open competition would give foreign investors greater
confidence to invest in the country as their interests would be safeguarded.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Coprorate Services Senior Vice-President Dr
Wafi Nazrin said enforcement of the Act would still allow the national carrier
to implement a zero percentage commission policy on surcharges for airport or
fuel in a competitive environment.

A commitee member of the Commission, he however explained, MAS would be
prohibited from talking to its competitors such as AirAsia and other
international airlines to fix prices, including air fares and services.

He said the Act would be applicable to all economic activities, including those
involving government-linked companies like the Sarawak Economic Development
Corporation (SEDC), MAS and Petronas as well as banks and individuals.

Under the Act, it would also be illegal for producers and manufacturers to sell
their goods through an agency as part of the distribution chain, so as to
safeguard dominant businessess from maximising profits by limiting or
controlling the supply of goods and services.

The Act, gazetted in June this year, was passed by Parliament in May.
-- BERNAMA



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