IT is unsurprising that business groups such as the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and the Malaysian Consortium of Mid-Tier Companies (MCMTC) are urging the Malaysian government not to withdraw from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Malaysia became a party to the CPTPP on November 29, and there has been a clamour from some civil society groups for Malaysia to withdraw from the CPTPP.
The CPTPP originated as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was championed by the Obama administration to serve as a counterweight to China’s rise as a global power. The intent was for the US to write the rules of trade between participating countries which would have encompassed 40% of the global GDP.
The US, under the Trump administration, withdrew from the TPP which it had initiated. The withdrawal had bipartisan support, with both the Democrats and Republicans against the US being party to such an agreement. The risk of domestic political fallout proved too great for both the parties, with the American public having grown tired and weary of the offshoring of their jobs to other countries, the widening wealth and income divide in the country, the lack of a social safety net and the evisceration of labour rights.
Many Americans, especially those disenfranchised by the global trade order, place the blame on global organisations and multilateral trade agreements such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Association. Three issues have come to dominate the opposition to free trade – lower wages, lower labour standards and lower environmental standards.
That the US, which had the most to gain in an absolute sense from a multilateral trade agreement such as the TPP saw reason to pull out, must serve as an indicator to other countries such as Malaysia. The fact of the matter is that as much as global trade has seen exponential growth since the WTO came into being in 1995, it has caused much social, political, and economic mayhem among those who have been displaced or disadvantaged by it.
There are many aspects which need to be scrutinised to ensure that the general population of participating countries benefit from it and not just the business community. We need to recognize that the dissatisfaction with the global economic order is such today that it is causing extreme polarisation within society which is not sustainable.
One area which needs immediate attention is to safeguard the interests of workers to prevent exploitation by businesses. Businesses, in particular large corporations, have exploited the global economic order to write the rules in their favour.
In a sense, the FMM and the MCMTC are right, in that given Malaysia’s economic realities, possibilities and potential, withdrawal from the CPTPP at this juncture will prove to be a step too far and counterproductive. However, it is imperative that Malaysia should strengthen governance mechanisms such as its labour laws to afford more protection to its workers.
Foreign companies operating in Malaysia must respect the rights of Malaysians, and that includes Malaysian culture. There should be penal consequences to prevent employers from exploiting Malaysian workers and impeding the activities of trade unions.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has placed alleviating the hardships caused by the rising cost of living as a central thrust of his reform agenda. For this to be sustained change, prosperity must be shared between the business community and the general public.
It is time that it is recognized that the neoliberal agenda of promoting free trade to the exclusion of the general well-being of society has failed and even the developed nations which have benefited from it in the aggregate now recognize its fatal flaws. Malaysia should wake up to such realities and ensure that the rakyat is not short-changed. – The Vibes, December 7, 2022
Callistus Antony D’Angelus is the international labour advisor for the Social Protection Contributors’ Advisory Association Malaysia (SPCAAM)
