Investment, trade and industry minister wants to look into how Malaysia has benefited from these deals.
Johari said the FTAs comprised nine multilateral and regional agreements and eight bilateral agreements, including with Turkey.
He said he wanted to look into how Malaysia had benefited from these pacts.
“Why have we not seen investment or trade coming our way, despite having signed these FTAs?” he told reporters, adding that it was essential to meet with the business community to obtain a better understanding of the issues they face.
He said Turkey would be the first stop in this exercise, with other FTA partner countries to follow.
Johari said Malaysia would also ensure that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) benefit more directly from FTAs, rather than relying solely on large corporations and foreign investment.
He said the government wanted to ensure that SMEs are not left out when Malaysia engages its FTA partners, and that these reviews must translate into better market access for local businesses.
Johari said even as Malaysia continued to welcome large multinationals and advanced technologies such as AI from developed economies, its real strength lay in building up its SMEs and helping them expand abroad.
“Our strength is how we develop our SMEs and allow them to go into all these FTA countries to expand their market,” he said.
Last month, Johari said the country’s trade agreements with the US might be reviewed and renegotiated if any of the terms were found to be unfair. - FMT
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