PKR MP Rafizi Ramli said Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz’s admission that the government is planning to renegotiate certain terms in the US reciprocal trade deal proved the concerns raised by critics were valid.
He said this in response to the investment, trade, and industry minister’s remarks during a recent interview on the Keluar Sekejap podcast - hosted by Khairy Jamaluddin.
“Recently, Zafrul, who was responsible for the negotiations, admitted in the Keluar Sekejap podcast that the government is trying to renegotiate the deal.
“This includes the controversial Article 5.1, which, in Cambodia’s case, clearly mentions the need to protect its national sovereignty.
“And I welcome Zafrul’s statement as the points he touched on are almost similar to the ones we raised earlier,” he said on Facebook today.
Section 1 of Article 5.1 refers to complementary actions for both deals, which require Malaysia and Cambodia to mirror US trade policies against other countries.
However, Cambodia’s deal states that the country should regulate the importation of goods or services similar to the US “in a manner that does not infringe on Cambodia’s sovereign interests”.
On Nov 1, Rafizi questioned if the cabinet had checked the agreement word-for-word, expressing concern that Malaysia may have rushed it.
Internal attacks
Meanwhile, Rafizi criticised pro-government cybertroopers for trolling the concerns raised by him and other PKR MPs following the signing of the trade deal.
He said Subang MP Wong Chen, Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and himself have been told to leave the party and were accused of being bitter for losing in the party polls.
“However, Zafrul’s admission vindicated us… confirming that our concerns were valid.
“This includes why we rushed into signing the agreement, which Zafrul acknowledged was a political move with its own risk.
“So, let’s study the agreements signed by other countries (with the US) so that our agreement doesn’t seem too skewed towards the US compared to other nations,” the Pandan MP added. - Mkini
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