KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — The talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), led by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, were extensively deliberated to ensure that Malaysia’s position is protected and safeguarded.

In a statement today, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, said the PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia (PwC) report said that by participating in the TPPA, Malaysia has the opportunity to shape the TPPA text and annexes and secure extensive safeguards.

“In the event of non-participation, these extensive safeguards would be forgone and Malaysia may not have another opportunity to secure such carve-outs that protect our domestic interest in the future,” he said.            

Anifah said this in response to the statement by member of Parliament for Kelana Jaya, Wong Chen, who said ‘Malaysia’s foreign Policy had become one of the worst in the world since Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak assumed office’.

He said Wong has also twisted the report published by PwC and said politics motivated the trade deal.

Anifah said the PwC’s report warned that Malaysia’s non-participation in the TPPA would result in a decline in gross domestic product by between US$9 billion (RM39.5 billion) and US$16 billion over 2018 to 2027.

“It also said the overall investments are also projected to decline by between US$7 billion and US$13 billion over the ten-year period,” he said.

Anifah said the non-participation in the TPPA would also limit the market access of Malaysia’s firms to the TPPA countries, particularly in terms of non-tariff measures. — Bernama