KUALA LUMPUR (March 1): The government should work towards eliminating monopolies and cartels to promote competition as the elite class who benefits from the current market structure “are feeding on the poor masses”, government backbencher William Leong Jee Keen (PKR-Selayang) said on Wednesday (March 1), noting that businesses are discouraged from entering the fray as they are at a disadvantage.

Leong is of the view that the existence of cartels and monopolies is one of the causes of Malaysia's high cost of living and food prices, which appear to be rising uncontrollably.

“Abuse of dominant or monopoly market power needs to be addressed to ensure sustainable economic growth. Consumers also lose due to lack of choice, [and they are] faced with high prices and poor-quality goods,” he told the Dewan Rakyat in his debate on the revised Budget 2023 on Wednesday.

“The economy will not grow because new enterprises cannot penetrate the market and businesses are not incentivised to be innovative and efficient,” he added.

Leong urged the government to open the market up and allow more companies to import goods to solve the issue of monopolies.

He opined that the recently mooted RM60 million profit sharing by Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) to rice farmers will not solve the fundamental issue created by the existing market structure.

“The existence of cartels in the rice cultivation industry is structural, from the supply of seeds, fertilisers, poisons, machines to marketing, manufacturing and handling of assistance schemes. If this whole system is not improved, the fate of the rice farmers will not change,” he stressed.

In addition, he said Putrajaya should also stay away from setting the market price when there is a shortage — such as the chicken and egg shortage.

“The control or planning of the price of goods by a human or an institution is not effective because no human or institution is capable of reviewing all the facts. As there are too many factors that need to be taken into account in setting prices and they are too complex, no single centre can examine them all.

“The constant changing of supply and demand conditions in different commodities cannot be understood thoroughly and at a fast enough pace by a single centre. Through competition, the price system automatically records all relevant data,” he explained.

Leong cautioned that when the elite class, cartels, and monopolies pressure the government to maintain their dominant and monopolistic power, their huge profits are paid by every Malaysian, for every item they buy on a daily basis are priced unreasonably high.

“They are feeding on the poor masses. The government has a responsibility to protect the consumers,” he said, adding that cartels are an enemy not only to consumers, but also to the country and society.

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