KUALA LUMPUR — A cartel of companies with personal ties among their directors conspired to manipulate six government maintenance tenders worth nearly RM45 million in Putrajaya, prompting the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) to issue penalties totalling RM2.98 million.
The commission named the three companies involved as Abadi Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Kota Lanskap Sdn Bhd, and Usia Maintenance Sdn Bhd. All were found guilty of bid-rigging in tenders issued by Perbadanan Putrajaya (PPj) between 2018 and 2021, in breach of Section 4 of the Competition Act 2010 (Act 712), Bernama reported.
MyCC Chief Executive Officer Datuk Iskandar Ismail said the case stemmed from complaints over suspicious bidding patterns in projects involving building and facility maintenance, landscaping, and civil engineering works in the federal administrative capital.
“Following complaints about bid-rigging activities involving several projects related to building and facility maintenance, landscaping, and civil engineering work in Putrajaya, MyCC conducted a preliminary assessment and identified nine enterprises suspected of being involved in the bid-rigging cartel,” he said at a press conference today.
“A full investigation was then carried out, including raids on the premises of the companies involved, taking statements from 24 individuals, requesting information, and analysing relevant evidence.”
The commission issued its Proposed Decision on September 10, 2024, and received representations from the implicated firms in November 2024 and March this year. MyCC issued its final violation decision yesterday.
According to Iskandar, the cartel was coordinated by Abadi Malaysia, which organised the tender manipulation through WhatsApp, email, and in-person meetings. Employees from all three companies also prepared tender documents at a single location under the guidance of one of Abadi Malaysia’s directors.
“MyCC also found that tender documents were prepared by employees from all three companies at a single location under the coordination of Abadi Malaysia through one of the company’s directors. This modus operandi was used by this cartel group in all six projects,” he said.
During the raids, investigators discovered documents belonging to all three companies stored at the premises of Kota Lanskap — further pointing to a centralised coordination effort.
“This collusion resulted in Usia Maintenance and Abadi Malaysia each winning two tenders. However, they were still found guilty for the remaining four tenders because evidence showed cartel behaviour in all four of those tenders,” Iskandar added.
He said Kota Lanskap also exhibited the same cartel conduct throughout all six tenders.
The investigation also revealed that the directors of the three companies were either family members or close acquaintances, although no officials from PPj were found to be involved in the cartel.
“We have around 14 cases ongoing and we are investigating more than 500 companies involving RM2.3 billion worth of tenders. We are still going through the processes of investigation,” Iskandar revealed.
He urged all businesses and procurement bodies — both public and private — to adopt stricter safeguards against anti-competitive practices.
“Every business must compete on merit and not through collusion, while public and private organisations should always be vigilant for signs of anti-competitive behaviour in the implementation of their procurement processes,” he said. — July 8, 2025