Malaysian High Court dismisses Grab’s judicial review application
14 May 2020
The High Court of Malaysia has dismissed the judicial review filed by Grab Holdings Inc. to challenge the proposed decision by the Malaysia Competition Commission (“MyCC”) in finding that GrabCar Sdn. Bhd., MyTeksi Sdn. Bhd. and Grab Holdings Inc. (collectively, “Grab”) had abused its dominant position in the e-hailing market.
In the MyCC’s proposed decision issued in October 2019, the MyCC proposed a financial penalty of approximately RM86.77 million on Grab for imposing restrictive clauses on its drivers relating to third-party advertising. Grab applied for judicial review to, inter alia, challenge:
- the MyCC’s approach and investigation process in making the proposed decision; and
- the imposition of a daily penalty of RM15,000, which is to be calculated from the date of the proposed decision.
The judicial review was dismissed by the High Court on the basis that Grab’s request is premature - as the MyCC’s proposed decision has yet to be finalised. An entity can challenge a proposed decision through written and oral representations before MyCC issues its final decision. Grab has indicated that it plans to file an appeal of the High Court’s decision.