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The Malaysian parliament started
debate on the country's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on
Tuesday as the government seeks a quick approval of the trade pact despite
remaining skepticism in the country. The lower house of parliament started a
two-day special sitting to debate the agreement, followed by a session in the
upper house.
International Trade and Industry
Minister Mustapa Mohamed, who tabled the motion, argued that Malaysia's
participation in the TPP will be essential for the country to achieve its goal
to become a high income country by 2020.
The Malaysian government has
lobbied hard to garner support for TPP by holding numerous briefings and
discussions with various quarters as well as citing researches and evaluations
that Malaysia is among the most to benefit from the deal.
In an article posted on his
social networking account ahead the parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Najib
Razak said free trade agreements like TPP would not only open up markets for
products and services, but could also potentially help develop businesses,
create more job opportunities as well as provide more choices of products which
are cheaper for Malaysians.
He argued that the TPP had taken
into account on some sensitive issues of Malaysia, including the rights of the
Malays and other indigenous people, government procurements and
government-owned enterprises.
However, some Malaysians remained
skeptic on TPP. The opposition said they would vote against the deal. Thousands
of protesters gathered in Kuala Lumpur during the weekend to denounce TPP,
demanding the parliament to reject the accord.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram, an economist
at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, urged the
parliament in a recent article for a throughout discussion on the accord for
public interest, instead of rushing through the deal.
He said Malaysia would face huge
risks by participating in the partnership, including the investor-state dispute
settlement and further liberation on financial services. Meanwhile, the
potential benefits for Malaysia are far from certain.
After more the five years of
discussions, 12 Pacific Rim countries, namely Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand,
Chile, the United States, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada and
Japan, concluded TPP in October 2015.
TPP forms a trading
block that makes up nearly 40 percent of the world economy. The 12 countries
are to sign the accord in New Zealand next month which is February 2016.
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