Govt committed to presenting TPPA at Parliament, says Najib

The government is committed to presenting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to Members of Parliament so that they can make an easier judgement on the pact, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said on Monday.

"We need to present it (TPP) to Parliament in Malaysia," he said during a dialogue session at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Chief Executive Officers' (CEO) summit 2013 here.

"Once we know more, then it is easier for us to make our judgement," said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.

"The timeline was desirable that we try to conclude it by the end of this year, but it is not cast in stone."

He also expressed deep concern over several areas in the TPP talks as they impinged on sovereign rights pertaining to the formulation of regulations and policies.

Echoing concerns of the Malaysian people and non-governmental organisations over TPP, he emphasised that flexibility was the key to successful negotiations.

"We do have a few areas of great concern because TPP is a different free trade agreement," said Najib at the dialogue session themed "Investment in Infrastructure and Human Capital - Investing for Economic Resilience."

The Prime Minister highlighted these concerns as a panel member in response to a question by the dialogue's moderator, Diane Brady, a senior editor with Bloomberg, about his concerns on the TPP.

Najib was a panel member together with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at the dialogue.

He said that TPP, launched in 2011 and into its 19th round of negotiations, goes beyond the normal Free Trade Agreement and investment pacts that Malaysia has with many countries.

"As you go beyond that, into areas of intellectual property, investor-state dispute settlement, government procurement, state-owned enterprises, environment and labour, you impinge on fundamentally the sovereign right of the country to make regulation and policy," he said.

"That is a tricky part and that is why we ask for flexibility," he said.

The TPP is a proposed free trade agreement being negotiated by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member countries -- Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, the United States and Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Hamim Samuri told the Dewan Negara Monday that the government would ensure that the nation's and the people's interests are not compromised in the ongoing negotiations of the trade pact.

Hamim also said Malaysia is not being pressured by any party to sign the TPPA as claimed by certain quarters.

Asked on the importance of Bumiputeras or the affirmative action policy for the country's resilience, Najib said:

"The Bumiputera policy should be seen in the context of having fair and just society because Bumiputeras comprise 67 per cent of the population and that include both Muslims and non-Muslim Bumiputeras as well in Sabah and Sarawak.

"If Bumiputeras were to be left behind or marginalised, it doesn't lead to long-term stability of the country."

Moving forward, Najib said the policy will be implemented in a market- friendly way and different from the past which invited some criticism against it.

"If it's implemented in a fairer and market-friendly way, I think it's going to be good for the country," he said, adding that while the policy is being implemented, non-Bumiputeras still benefited from the same policy.

The CEO's summit is being held prior to the Apec Economic Leaders's Meeting on Tuesday at the Indonesian island-resort.