TPPA unlikely to be tabled in Dewan Rakyat this year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is unlikely to be tabled in Dewan Rakyat this year, said MCA secretary general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan here today.
It is unlikely that the agreement will be tabled in Parliament during the coming sitting on Oct 19 as the government needs to iron out several issues first, he told a press conference after opening the Wanita MCA AGM.
Ong said it will take some time to study the legal aspects of the agreement and to consult relevant stakeholders before it will be tabled in Parliament.
"There are still some technical issues, especially legal factors, that we need to resolve. It will be challenging (to table in the coming Parliament sitting)," he said.
Ong added that the agreement will streamline international trade and will benefit the country in the long run.
He stressed that the government will need Parliament's approval before signing TPPA as it is a major trade agreement and cannot be decided in the Cabinet alone.
"It (TPPA) will be tabled in Parliament and the MPs will vote on it, so there is a chance it will be rejected.
"Usually it is the Cabinet that decides on these matters, but this is a major trade agreement involving many in Malaysia.
"So instead of having 30 plus ministers of the Cabinet decide, we will leave it to the 222 MPs to decide," said Ong.
The TPPA is a "free trade" pact involving 12 countries around the pacific rim including Malaysia, the US, Singapore, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Vietnam, and etc.
However, detractors including Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) contends that the trade deal will benefit major international corporations at the expense of local small and medium enterprises.
The Opposition had also criticised the secretive nature of TPPA, and had demanded the government to publicly disclose the deal's terms.
On Oct 7, United Nations assistant director-general and coordinator for economic and social development, food and agriculture organisation, Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram called on the government not to join the TPPA as it provides little benefit for Malaysia.
Meanwhile, others such as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar and former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz had voiced support for the agreement.