Welcome Remarks By The Hon. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Siti Norma Yaakob
Chairman Of The Malaysia Competition Commission
Training On Competition Law & Policy Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur 8 – 9 June 2013
Date: 8 Jun 2013
Bismillah hirrahmin nirrahim
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullah Hiwabarakatuh
Distinguished Speakers from the CUTS Institute for Regulation & Competition (CIRC),
Distinguished Members of the Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC),
Madam Shila Dorai Raj
Chief Executive Officer of MyCC,
Members of the media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning and welcome to the two-day training on Competition Policy and Law. The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) is most fortunate to have a distinguished line up of speakers both from the CUTS Institute for Regulation & Competition (CIRC), OECD and other international institutions.
The MyCC, together with the CIRC, has especially drawn up this dual plenary programme for the targeted attendees comprising of members of the media, representatives from key ministries and agencies, Members of the Commission, and staff of the MyCC.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Currently MyCC’s immediate challenge is to ensure the effective implementation of the Competition Act 2010 (CA 2010) that has been in force since January last year.
Crucial to the successful implementation of the Act is the knowledge on issues pertaining to competition, in both realms of the law and economy. Therefore, this two-day capacity building programme could not have been more timely as it is imperative for stakeholders such as the media, and key ministries and agencies, to gain a clearer understanding on such issues.
This two-pronged programme is in line with one of the MyCC’s area of focus, which is to ensure continuous capacity building for which advocacy efforts are undertaken.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
This year most of our advocacy efforts centre around our main focus areas, which are bid rigging, anti-competitive conduct by professional bodies or associations, and competition issues related with small and medium size enterprises.
Outreach activities have also not been forgotten and last year alone the MyCC conducted 37 of such programmes with the private and government sectors. This year we plan to hold another 26 programmes and to date nine has already been conducted. Our upcoming sessions for June and July include a joint workshop on bid rigging with the OECD Korea Policy Centre and joint roadshows with Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation (SMECorp).
This year MyCC will also be hosting its inaugural Competition Law Conference with the theme “New Standards for Business in Malaysia”, held in Kuala Lumpur on 25th and 26th September. The conference will serve as a forum to create greater awareness of the implications of the Competition Act 2010, its purposes and the consequence of non-compliance. I take this opportunity to extend my personal invitation to all of you to the MyCC’s first conference and I hope to see some of you in Kuala Lumpur in September.
In addition, the MyCC has commenced two market studies this year to date: firstly, a baseline study on the awareness level of the Competition Act 2010 and secondly, a market study on the scale of fees by professional bodies. Both are expected to be concluded this month.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before I conclude, allow me to mention once again the importance of knowledge in the effective implementation of the Competition Act 2010. The CIRC and the other international speakers bring with them a wealth of knowledge on competition law and economics backed with research in key areas.
Over the next two days, among the areas we will be looking at are the definition and scope of competition law and policy, an overview of competition law in Malaysia, lessons from other countries, international trade, and the role of media in competition issues.
With such a distinguished panel of speakers from a well-established NGO specializing in capacity building on competition matters such as the CIRC on board, I am sure all of us will benefit from this training session.
Wabillahitaufikwalhidayah, wassalamualikum w.b.t.
Thank you.