TPPA not US mould - Mustapa
Bernama
January 28, 2016 08:02 MYT
January 28, 2016 08:02 MYT
MUSTAPA: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is not a trade agreement designed solely by the United States.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is not a trade agreement designed solely by the United States (US), said Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
Malaysia which is one of the member countries was also involved in formulating the draft for the international agreement which also involved 11 other countries, he said.
"Malaysia is responsible for preparing the drafts for Chapter 6, 21 and 24 which are related to cooperation and capacity building for small and medium industries, development and other important chapters which are not available in any other trade agreements.
"The views that Malaysia is applying the US's template is not true," he said during his winding-up debate on the TPPA motion for his ministry at a special session of the Dewan Rakyat, Wednesday.
Five other Cabinet ministers including Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, also made their respective winding-up speeches at the session.
Mustapa also said economic superpowers such as the US and Japan did not have veto powers in the TPPA and this would not affect the nation's economy as Malaysia practised a mixed economic system.
He also dismissed allegations that Malaysia would be colonised by the US's capitalist system.
"We have intervention. The country's economy is not based on capitalism and socialism...we are in the middle. Hence, the TPPA will not change the economic model (Malaysia).
"This is because we will continue to have Bumiputera, government-linked companies and also the 11th Malaysia Plan which has a chapter specifically related to the B40 (Bottom 40) group. It's clear that our economic model is a mixed economy," he said.
Mustapa, who is also Member of Parliament for Jeli, described the trade agreement as a joint commitment by the Barisan Nasional government as a whole and not a 'one man show' as proclaimed by the opposition.
He said the TPPA negotiations over five years had been brought to the Cabinet more than 40 times which also involved other ministries besides the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
After a two-day special session of tabling the motion on the TPPA, the Dewan Rakyat decided to pass the motion with 127 members voted for the motion and 84 against.
Malaysia is among 12 countries involved in the TPPA with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam.