Is the government just playing monopoly?

[superadmin]

With the government currently pushing for more competition and hence, fewer monopolies in Malaysia, (Puspakom and Touch & Go are recent examples), it is natural to ask why so many monopolies were created in the first place.

Monopolies emerge for many reasons. For example the TNB monopoly in power distribution is a “natural monopoly” because it is too expensive to build two competitive electricity distribution systems. This justifies one provider.

Some, such as the Bernas rice monopoly, are created by policy. There is no real economic reason why many companies could not supply rice.

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