TPPA will benefit Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will be a huge "building block" in free trade for Malaysia.
According to the Secretary-General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Tan Sri Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, the negotiations for the TPPA have been tough but will prove of benefit to the country in the long run.
"For us, from an economic perspective, this is a huge building block for free trade for the Malaysian economy," she said.
She also added that the controversy and outcry from the public about Malaysia signing the TPPA is because of the involvement of the Unites States.
"I think there wouldn't be so much of an outcry if the US were not involved," she said.
Sta Maria was speaking at a talk organised by law firm Lee, Hishamuddin, Allen and Gledhill on the TPPA's impact on Malaysia.
She said that negotiations with the US about a free trade agreement was always in the pipeline, but Malaysia did not have the proper systems in place at the time to do it.
"When we began our negotiations, a lot of things were not in place in the country, our laws were behind. Our intellectual property laws are still behind," she said.
But she added that now was the perfect time to enter into this agreement as there is plenty of potential in it as it involves the Asia Pacific region and not just Malaysia.