The seven companies are Agenda Eksklusif Sdn Bhd, Star Apex Enterprise, Nekad Waja Resources, Spectron Sdn Bhd, Teknokrat Makmur Enterprise, Prospectrum Sdn Bhd and NK Panorama Enterprise.

MyCC CEO Iskandar Ismail said the companies were found to have breached Section 4 of the Competition Act 2010 (Act 712) after taking part in a cartel which bid for four Mindef tenders worth about RM20 million from 2017 to 2020.

“I must emphasise that this investigation focussed on the companies involved in the violations, not Mindef,” he said in a press conference at MyCC’s office here today.

“Mindef is a victim of these cartels’ manipulation.

“We appreciate Mindef’s cooperation in the investigation and its strong stance against these irresponsible cartel activities, which represent the highest form of competition law violation.”

Iskandar said bid-rigging cartels undermine transparency and integrity in procurement processes, leading to significant losses of public resources that should benefit the country and its people.

He said MyCC is currently investigating 13 bid-rigging cartels involving 561 companies bidding for RM2.37 billion worth of tenders, and reviewing complaints related to 463 companies bidding for RM9.27 billion worth of tenders.

Iskandar encouraged other agencies to adopt Mindef’s approach in cooperating with MyCC to safeguard transparency in public procurement.

“If any ministry or agency suspects bid-rigging practices in their tender processes, we recommend that they immediately contact MyCC to file a complaint,” he said.