Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): The Dewan Rakyat has endorsed the motion to sign and ratify the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, following a two-day special parliamentary meeting on the controversial multi-national trade pact.

The motion was passed after a bloc vote in the House, with 127 backbenchers voting in favour of the pact while the 84 opposition MPs voted against the motion.

The vote followed two days of heated debate between 15 lawmakers from BN and 15 from the opposition on the TPP agreement.

The motion was tabled yesterday by International Trade and Industry Datuk Mustapa Mohamed.

He told a press conference later that the motion would be brought to Dewan Negara tomorrow for approval before he proceeded to sign the agreement in New Zealand next month.

"Going forward, I will discuss with Jasin and Lembah Pantai what our next action plan would be," said Mustapa, referring to Jasin MP Datuk Ahmad Hamzah and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

"We will also follow the wishes of Malaysian small and medium enterprises in ensuring that they will still be able to compete not just in Malaysia but the foreign market.

"We will also implement the proposal of a monitoring process. We will consider the best method for this."

He said the first amendments to the laws affected by TPP agreement would be tabled in Dewan Rakyat in March next year.

These laws would involve the Human Resources Ministry and the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry, he said.

Malaysia is expected to make 26 amendments to 17 laws once Dewan Negara approves the TPP agreement.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail told reporters the fight against TPP agreement was not over.

"It's strange because the US still has doubts (about the TPP agreement) but we are in such a rush to sign it.

"What we are doing is for our country and we hope in the two or maybe four years that it will take to ratify TPP agreement, we will continue (with our struggle)."

 

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