HIGHLIGHTING CONCERNS: (From left) Kota Tinggi Member of Parliament Datuk Noor Ehsanuddin Mohd Harun Narrashid, Jasin Member of Parliament Datuk Ahmad Hamzah, Lembah Pantai Member of Parliament and Kelana Jaya Member of Parliament Wong Chen during the TPPA meet. — Bernama photo
KOTA KINABALU: Malaysian small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) are concerned that they will lose out once the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is implemented, a group of Malaysian parliamentarians said.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Caucus for TPPA Datuk Wira Ahmad Hamzah said based on information gathered from stakeholders, SMEs may face a bleak future with the TPPA.
“When multinationals from developed countries participate or invest in our country, they will come with big money. So, the SMEs will fall out,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 18th round of TPPA negotiations here.
However, Ahmad said Malaysia was confident negotiators, representing 12 countries including newcomer Japan, would not overlook the interest of SMEs as the fear was also shared by other participating countries.
Besides Malaysia and Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam are participating in the negotiations which began on July 15.
Ahmad, who is Jasin Member of Parliament, said the Parliamentary Caucus was working hard to gather information on pertinent issues related to the interest of Malaysia so that it could be discussed in Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Putatan MP Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh hoped Malaysian negotiators would raise issues close to Sabah and Sarawak such as native customary rights and environmental issues, as well as, Malaysia’s concern over halal certification. — Bernama