Malaysian PM affirms to continue negotiating CPTPP terms

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The Malaysian government will continue to negotiate the terms of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) until it is satisfied that they will not be detrimental to the country, said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

"We have scrutinised the agreement and found many things that are detrimental to us in our efforts to develop the country,” the PM was quoted by the national news agency Bermana as saying during a dialogue at the Congress on the Future of Bumiputera and the Nation on September 1.

Mahathir said the government held two meetings with experts in the past two weeks to determine whether the CPTPP terms were good for the country.

According to the PM, Malaysia is a developing country while several other members are developed nations. Therefore, there will be unfair if the same terms are applied to all members.

He emphasised the need for special treatment to more disadvantaged nations.

“We have identified what is bad for us and we need to renegotiate this provision," he added.

The CPTPP is a renegotiated trade deal borne out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) after the US pulled from the TPP.

The revised pact was signed by the remaining 11 TPP member states, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam in March 2018.-VNA