FEBRUARY 1 — There are still several days to go before the TPP is officially signed, but some quarters here in Malaysia are already jumping the gun by asking the government to “gradually review the existing Bumiputera policies."

Sin Chew, the most widely circulated Chinese newspaper in the country, initiated the calls through several write-ups recently, suggesting that our nation is in need of such a move “in order to enjoy the biggest benefits” out of the controversial trade agreement.

The motive of this brazen motion is indeed questionable as it has been made clear early on that Bumiputera policies have been insulated from the agreement, although the guarantee could only be validated once the deal mechanism comes into full force in a few more years. 

Nevertheless, to have such a call from your fellow citizen, right after all the difficulty in negotiating our way out of similar attempts by the participating countries during the negotiation rounds, really smacks of betrayal and a stab in the back. 

Sin Chew, and the community it serves, must realise that the overwhelming opposition to TPP was not only happening in Malaysia, or driven solely by the concerns of its impact towards Bumiputera, as some of the write-up alluded to. 

Certainly the people of Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Argentina, Peru & Chile did not come out in droves to the streets to protest because some Bumiputera contractors are in danger of losing out for some government contracts.

These people shared their grave concerns on a host of common important issues which include sovereignty, access to affordable healthcare, unabated US hegemony, widening wealth gap, and if there is any actual economic benefits from the deal. 

Many of them also believe that the agreement is largely motivated by greed of the major corporations trying to gain unrestrictive and lucrative access to a significantly larger market, an ambition that is somewhat in line with Sin Chew’s basis of proposition.  

This opposition against TPP is not without sound basis as various independent, and qualified, parties have presented analyses that tore down most, if not all, arguments of the supposed benefits of TPP. These voices include no less than Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, and former senior UN official, Prof. Dr. KS Jomo, who relentlessly highlighted the bleak consequences of joining the trade deal.   

Sadly, Sin Chew chose to go against these learned views and insisted that “we don’t need a trade or economic expert to tell us that TPP has the capacity to churn out opportunities." 

Sin Chew, however, missed the opportunity to engage these views more intellectually by failing to provide further explanation on how exactly this capacity can be achieved, apart from simply asking the government to improve transparency and do away with affirmative policies.

As a matter of fact, as Sin Chew is of the view that Malaysia stands to miss out on the benefits of TPP if policies for Bumiputera are still in place, they should have rallied the community it represents to join the movement that opposes the deal instead. 

This is because the government had repeatedly stated from the beginning, in its bid to dissuade the protesting group, that the policies are to remain protected under TPP.

Sin Chew also seemed to be sending conflicting standpoint of the Chinese community on this issue as DAP, which represents and enjoys solid support from the community, appeared to be unanimous in its opposition to TPP during the recently concluded Parliament special session.

Sin Chew’s treacherous act of exploiting a major turning point the country is taking, that is joining TPP, to advance highly sensitive demands is indeed despicable. 

Authorities should be extra alert of this detestable tactic and decisive action must be taken swiftly on the party that pursues it to prevent it from spreading beyond control.

Let us all take this as a call for all right-minded Malaysians to distance ourselves from this dangerously insensitive attitude and instead look for ways so that all of us can overcome this new challenge of TPP together, and not at the expense of each other.

* Umar Hakim describes himself as an Isma activist.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.