KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Despite reservations on the US-led Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), Malaysians should be open to opportunities to improve the country’s global economic edge instead of readying to shut the door, former minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said.

He urged his countrymen to be willing to invest more to enhance Malaysia’s economy, including transforming the education system and emphasising the importance of science and technology in order to have a fighting chance against global corporations.

“The correct course of action is not to slam the door shut on the TPPA and other trade agreements, but for us to negotiate well and to make ourselves become even more competitive,” Zaid wrote in his blog last night.

“We must ensure that our own major corporations do not remain mere ‘jaguh kampung’ but are able to compete well when securing large contracts overseas — and for this, we must be serious about our human capital development,” he added, using the Malay idiom that means “village champions”.

Zaid also urged for cooler heads to prevail in discussions of the trade deal, claiming that harsh words, questionable statistics, and hyperbole have been trotted out by both sides who favour and oppose it.

He warned that no sensible nation will prosper by shutting itself out from the rest of the world, while rejecting TPPA without an alternative regional trade arrangement would be irresponsible as Malaysia depends heavily on free trade.

Zaid called on Malaysians to trust the country’s leaders to secure the best possible arrangement ahead of signing the deal, amid criticisms over the secrecy of the trade deal.

“There are many officials who have been trained by the incomparable Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz — probably our best Minister for a long time — as well as Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad, the current Minister, who has a clear head and understands the issues  better than some of the more vocal economists.

“There is no reason why Mustapa and his officials have not put their best case forward to protect our interests, but what we need now is for cool heads to prevail when we discuss the matter in Parliament later this year,” said Zaid.

On Wednesday, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa said Putrajaya is looking at presenting its case for the TPPA to Parliament in January next year.

It was announced late Monday that negotiators from the 12 prospective trade partners have agreed to the terms of the trade pact and will now proceed to the next step of the process, which is to get their respective countries to buy into the deal.

The TPPA is a free trade agreement that has been negotiated by the US, Malaysia and nine other nations as part of the larger Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership since 2010.