THE prime minster has finally admitted that Touch ‘n Go (TNG) is a monopoly and that despite two decades in operation, there has been “no convincing development in the system”.

He also said there is a need to review the system.

Further, it is indeed great to hear that the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) “stands firm with the public” and expects to end the monopoly in line with public demand.

On October 30, 2018, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) had officially filed a complaint citing the abuse of consumers by TNG through excessive pricing, poor service and failure to address complaints. It called for an end to the monopoly.

By liberalising the sector to accept other forms of payment, consumers will have a choice and thus will choose based on best value for their money.

Two years later, MyCC informed Fomca that the issues brought up “do not raise any competition concern”. It claimed that they were consumer issues and thus it decided to “close the complaint”.

From the consumer’s perspective, all matters impacting consumer well-being are consumer issues.

When Fomca again raised the monopoly issue with regard to the excessive pricing of the radio frequency identification (RFID) system and its inefficiency, and called for the sector to be liberalised, MyCC claimed that “accusations of TNG’s monopolistic behaviour (by Fomca) was a clear misconception”.

It insisted that it was not a competition issue but a consumer matter, thus it was outside its jurisdiction.

The consumer affairs minister then on his own initiative formed a special task force to investigate the complaints concerning TNG. It was clear that he could not rely on MyCC’s findings.

Based on the findings of the investigation, the prime minister has stated that the monopoly is unacceptable. He said there needs to be a review towards liberalising the sector.

Moving forward, the government has announced that it will implement an open payment system on five highways.

The TNG monopoly is expected to be broken at public transport systems and has already been liberalised at some parking centres.

Further, we look forward to the breaking of the RFID monopoly.

All Fomca had wanted when it submitted its complaint in 2018 was that the payment system be liberalised.

MyCC only made its declaration of the need for the end the TNG monopoly after the announcement by the prime minister for a review. It should have been the agency to take the lead to ensure consumer justice.

Fomca strongly believes that consumers have a right to consumer justice. It requests the prime minister to ensure that all agencies established to protect consumers fulfil that roles seriously and effectively. – March 23, 2023.

* Paul Selva Raj is Fomca secretary-general.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.