Malaysia Competition Law: 2019 - Hindsight and 2020 - Foresight

2019, which marked Encik Iskandar Ismail’s first full year as the Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”), saw considerable growth in the level of enforcement activities undertaken by MyCC. In 2019, MyCC received and screened a total of 154 complaints, issued its first proposed decision on bid-rigging (an activity which MyCC has since its inception focused on preventing and detecting especially in the public procurement sector) and also issued a final decision on resale price maintenance.

Salvaging the Salvor: The Decision of the Malaysian Apex Court in Fordeco Sdn Bhd v PK Fertilizers Sdn Bhd

In a unanimous decision delivered by a five-man panel, the Malaysian apex court shed light on important aspects of the law on salvage. The judgment of the Federal Court was delivered by Malaysia’s first Admiralty Court Judge, Nallini Pathmanathan FCJ.

The judgment re-stated the principles on general average and further discussed the following two key issues relating to the law of salvage:

• When is a contract termed one for salvage rather than for towage or for carriage of goods; and
• What is the standard of care in assessing whether a salvor was negligent in the course of salvage operations?