Minister: Anti-scalping provisions to be added to Price Control Act

The Malaysian Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living is formulating a legal framework to combat ticket scalping, with new regulations potentially being implemented next year.

These measures may be incorporated under Section 15(1) of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act, providing the ministry authority to address unfair pricing practices.

The initiative follows public outcry over exorbitant reselling of tickets, notably during Coldplay's 2023 performance in Kuala Lumpur, and aims to control bulk purchasing through identification requirements.

The ministry is currently consulting with stakeholders and conducting benchmarking studies to establish effective anti-scalping regulations.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 — The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living is “actively” working on a dedicated legal framework to combat ticket scalping, with new regulations expected to take effect as early as next year, Parliament was told this morning.

Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said anti-scalping provisions could be inserted under Section 15(1) of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act, which grants authority to introduce measures curbing unfair pricing and resale practices.

“The ministry is currently engaging in engagement sessions with event organisers and conducting benchmarking studies with the objective and intention of establishing a legal framework,” he said during Question Time.

“Under Act 723, or the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act, Section 15(1) provides the minister and the Ministry the power to establish a mechanism in the form of regulations that we can use to curb these scalping activities,” he added.

Scalping is a slang term used to describe the practice of buying something highly sought after like concert tickets, shoes, or clothing at retail price and then reselling it at a much higher price, leveraging on scarcity and demand.

While scalping in Malaysia has been around for some time, backlash against the practice blew up when British rock giants Coldplay came to perform in Kuala Lumpur in 2023, when “scalpers” bought tickets in big numbers and then resell them at exorbitant rates.

For example, the standard CAT 1 tickets that were originally priced at RM1,288 were re-listed for reportedly up to RM43,000, sparking outrage.

Investigative reports suggest scalping in Malaysia has evolved from individuals reselling a few extra tickets into an organised, tech-driven operation affecting multiple sectors as scalpers began utilising internet bots to make bulk purchases.

Bots help resellers bypass virtual waiting rooms to buy bulk batches of tickets within seconds before human buyers even load the payment page.

Armizan said the anti-scalping provisions would include the definition of scalping itself, how to control bulk ticket purchasing activities and enforcing the use identification or names on ticket purchases.

“Because when bulk ticket purchases happen — whether through bots or by individuals — this is where secondary sales or a secondary layer of sales occur,” he said.

“So that is where the situation of scalping may arise. This is what we are studying.”

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马来西亚国内贸易及生活成本部正在制定打击黄牛倒卖门票的法律框架，新规有望于明年实施。

这些措施可依据《价格控制和反暴利法》第 15(1) 条予以实施，赋予该部委权力来处理不公平定价行为。

此前，公众对门票的过度转售表示强烈不满，尤其是在 2023 年 Coldplay 在吉隆坡的演出期间，该举措旨在通过身份验证要求来控制批量购买。

该部目前正与利益相关者进行磋商，并开展基准研究，以制定有效的反黄牛法规。

吉隆坡，10 月 13 日讯——据国会今天上午获悉，国内贸易及生活成本部正在“积极”制定专门的法律框架来打击黄牛倒卖门票的行为，预计新规最早将于明年生效。

国内贸易及生活成本部长拿督阿米赞·莫哈末·阿里表示，反倒价条款可以加入《价格控制和反暴利法》第15(1)条，该条授权采取措施遏制不公平定价和转售行为。

他在问答环节中表示：“该部目前正在与活动组织者进行交流，并开展基准研究，其目的和意图是建立一个法律框架。”

“根据《价格控制和反暴利法》（第 723 号法令）第 15(1) 条，部长和相关部门有权制定法规形式的机制，以遏制这些倒卖商品的行为，”他补充道。

“黄牛”是一个俚语，用来描述以零售价购买热门商品（如音乐会门票、鞋子或服装）然后利用稀缺性和需求以更高的价格转售的行为。

虽然马来西亚的黄牛倒卖票现象由来已久，但直到 2023 年英国摇滚巨星 Coldplay 来到吉隆坡演出时，这种做法才遭到强烈抵制。当时，黄牛大量购买门票，然后以高价转售。

例如，原价为 1,288 马币的标准 CAT 1 门票被重新标价，据报道高达 43,000 马币，引发了众怒。

调查报告显示，马来西亚的黄牛票贩卖活动已经从个人转售少量多余门票演变为有组织的、技术驱动的运作，影响到多个行业，因为黄牛开始利用网络机器人进行批量购买。

机器人帮助转售商绕过虚拟等候室，在人类买家加载支付页面之前几秒钟内批量购买门票。

阿米赞表示，反黄牛条款将包括黄牛的定义、如何控制批量购票活动以及强制要求在购票时使用身份信息或姓名。

“因为当发生批量购票时——无论是通过机器人还是个人——就会出现二级销售或二级销售层，”他说。

“所以，这就是黄牛炒作现象可能出现的原因。这也是我们正在研究的问题。”

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