Why only 12 in TPPA, when WTO has 147 nations

Negotiators must check whether Malaysia will benefit from the technological advancement of developed economies, says former Proton Holdings Berhad CEO.

GEORGE TOWN: Malaysia must scrutunise all the finer details in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) before signing the deal, said a former corporate industry player today.

Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd and Proton Holdings Berhad former chief executive officer Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff said the TPPA must create opportunities for emerging and underdeveloped economies to benefit from developed countries.

“The key here is how advanced economies can help developing countries.

“Malaysian negotiators should scrutinise all clauses of TPPA, especially those that can put Malaysia in a losing situation.

“It must be a win-win deal for all. The country must benefit from it,” he told newsmen after delivering a keynote address at the Academy of International Business Southeast Asia Regional Conference on Global Business and Consumers in a Networked World at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa in Batu Ferringhi.

Some 50 people from various sectors attended the conference which was organised by Hong Kong’s Lingman University in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

Tengku Mahaleel also questioned why TPPA only had 12 signatories so far among the 147 nations which had signed the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement.

“Why TPPA is so small?” he asked, adding that developed economies behave differently than emerging economies.

He said the negotiators must check whether TPPA would create opportunities for Malaysia to benefit from the technological advancement of developed economies.

For instance, he said the advanced economies can transfer technologies to emerging economies to manufacture products.

This in turn, he said, would boost the emerging economies growth, and as a result, would create potential lucrative markets for advanced economies to invest and explore.

He asked if Malaysian products had penetrated 50% of the global market of almost 200 countries, would TPPA help to explore the remaining 100 nations.

“All these details must be studied. We must go back to basic contractual principles that one must gain something in an agreement,” said Tengku Mahaleel.

He also cautioned that countries under TPPA risked being sued by global corporate players due to breaches of contract, hence a threat to a nation’s sovereignty.

“Companies can take action on countries and governments.

“A democratically elected government can lose power to protect their own societies against corporate organisations,” he said.

He suggested that Malaysia must strike a balance and create a win-win situation before entering into the TPPA deal.