Hasan (fifth left), Norma (fifth right) and other delegates during the workshop.
KUCHING: To nurture an environment conducive for a strong economy requires effective implementation of consumer and competition policies,
This was the sentiment brought forward by Datuk Sri Hasan Malek, Minister of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives & Consumerism (MDTCC) at the inaugural ASEAN Experts Group on Competition (AEGC) Workshop on Investigation and Case-Handling jointly held by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC), Asean Secretariat and the Deutsche Gesselschaft fur Internationale Zusammernarbeit (GIZ).
During his officiating speech, Hasan also commended the MyCC’s efforts thus far in enforcing and promoting competition law in the nation, while at the same time protecting consumers.
He noted that unlike consumer laws, competition law is challenging to enforce even in established jurisdictions like the EU and the UK, due to its complex and technical nature.
“The skills needed to investigate are quite different from normal civil or criminal cases. Understanding economics and the business culture are key elements to bringing about a good case,” he said.
“I am made to understand that investigations can take up to several years to conclude. Even a simple straightforward case can take up to a year to conclude,” he added.
“This is because investigation of cartels in particular, which work in secret, are not only the most difficult kind of behaviour to understand, but they are the most complex kind of cases that competition authorities are dealing with.”
Sixteen delegates from ten Asean countries attended the two-day workshop in addition to the MyCC investigation and enforcement personnel.
Also present at the workshop launch were MDTCC secretary-general Datuk Sri Alias Ahmad, MyCC chairman Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob, member of commission Datuk Sothi Rachagan, and MyCC chief executive officer, Shila Dorai Raj.
According to Siti Norma, the workshop was a follow through from the earlier AEGC Brainstorming Meeting on Capacity Building Needs, where it was agreed that there was a need to strengthen the core competencies for investigation and case-handling of competition agencies with an enforcement record.
Competition enforcement agencies face several challenges such as increasing investigative capacity to detect cartels, initiating robust investigations, and prioritising multiple enforcement matters to make use of available resources.
The two-day workshop was jointly held to help investigators in the ASEAN region, who are relatively new to competition laws, to learn investigation and case-handling skills from competition law experts and economists.
Invited speakers for the sessions were competition law experts from the European Union (EU) Michael Albers and Robert Ian McEwin, from Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC). Katsunori Inaguma, and senior economist Cheah Chee Wah. Also present as moderator was Frank Tibitanzl, GIZ Principal Advisor of the Competition Policy and Law in ASEAN (CPL) Project.