MyCC chairman Idrus Harun said the commission has issued a “proposed decision” against the two companies for their alleged involvement in the cartel.

He said the companies were found to have progressively breached Section 4 of the Competition Act 2010 (Act 712), having agreed to share information and collude in preparing and submitting their bids.

“MyCC finds that the agreement had the object of preventing, restricting or significantly distorting competition in relation to public procurement involving the CSR tender,” he said in a statement today.

However, Idrus stressed that the proposed decision represented preliminary findings and should not be construed as a conclusive determination that the companies had breached Act 712.

He said the companies had been informed of the proposed financial penalties and had been given the opportunity to submit written representations within 30 days of receiving the proposed decision, and present oral representations at a later date.

“MyCC will only issue its final decision after considering the representations made by these enterprises together with the evidence obtained during the investigation,” he said.