Armizan defends 40% fine discount for firms flouting competition laws

KUALA LUMPUR: The domestic trade and cost of living ministry has defended the 40% maximum discount for financial penalties imposed on companies that breach competition laws under the settlement mechanism provided for in the Competition Act (Amendment) Bill 2026.

Its minister, Armizan Mohd Ali, clarified that discounts of up to 40% can be provided, but the percentage rate would not be applied across the board by the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC).

“The decision on the rate imposed would have to be taken collectively by the whole commission and not by any single commissioner,” he said while winding up the debate on the bill in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Other factors taken into consideration include the value of the case, its impact on the public and other enterprises, and the level of cooperation provided by the firm during the investigation.

He said the commission would also take into account procedural efficiency, the resource savings achieved or likely to be achieved, as well as the firm’s continued compliance when determining the discount rate.

“If we look at other jurisdictions, Singapore offers settlement discounts of up to 30%, the UK up to 20%, the European Union between 20% and 30%, India 15%, Hong Kong 50%, and New Zealand 20%.”

Armizan was responding to several MPs concerned that the maximum 40% discount was too large, making the final penalty too lenient for enterprises under investigation for breaching competition laws.

In his winding-up speech, Armizan also explained that the bill does not include a merger control regime (one that controls mergers and acquisitions to prevent deals that could substantially reduce competition) because the current priority is to improve MyCC’s enforcement capacity.

A decision was therefore made to focus on the current amendments in the bill, with the merger control regime to be addressed during the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) period, from this year until 2030.

Whistleblower protection

The minister also defended the inclusion of the whistleblower protection component under Section 64A of the Bill, despite the country already having the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (WPA).

He explained that the WPA covers criminal wrongdoings, which cannot be applied to the Competition Act, which covers civil offences.

The amendment bill, which was tabled in the lower house today for second reading, aims to strengthen Malaysia’s competition regime, expand the powers of MyCC, and introduce new enforcement, settlement, and appeal mechanisms.

The bill passed the second reading by majority voice vote, with the committee-stage debate to take place next Monday, when the Competition Commission (Amendment) Bill 2026 will also be tabled for a second reading.