KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 – The government would ensure that the negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) would come out with rules that are fair to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Minister in the Prime Minister Department, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has undertaken the cost-benefit study on the pact’s impact on SMEs.
He told reporters after officiating the SMEs Business and Financial Solution 2015 here on Thursday that he will do my best to point out issues to ensure that the SMEs are not given an unfair deal down the road. He said the Malaysia was primarily a trading nation and needed to tap TPPA but more studies on the agreement’s consequences were also needed.
“I understand the SMEs are worried that they will lose out when multinationals from developed countries participate or invest in our country with big money when the agreement is implemented. But they should not worry as we will make sure their (SMEs) concerns are taken on board and more information on the agreement’s advantages will be provide to them,” he said.
Wee said the agreement in fact would open up Malaysian businesses to a market that contributed 40 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product. Meanwhile, he added that it is the start of bigger market for SMEs whereby they can access as well as promote investor confidence in Malaysian markets and we have been encouraging them take the opportunity to tap international markets.
