Malaysian legislators endorse TPP

The Malaysian government received endorsement from the parliament on Thursday to sign up the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), despite strong dissidence from the opposition.

A motion supporting Malaysia's participation in the U.S.-led trade pact was passed in the upper house of parliament, which was dominated by the ruling coalition, with a simple voice vote.

The powerful lower house passed a similar bill on Wednesday by 127 votes to 84 votes against after two days of heated debate. The ruling coalition holds 134 seats in the lower house.

The support from the legislators is likely to boost Malaysia's position when it joins other participating countries to sign the agreement in New Zealand next month. Then Malaysia has 24 months to amend related domestic laws to keep in line with TPP before it is enforced.

The Malaysian government has vigorously promoted the participation of TPP as essential thruster for future growth. A World Bank report put Malaysia as one of the countries to gain the most benefit from the deal.

The government also argues it had secured concessions on some sensitive issues in the negotiations, including the rights of the Malays and other indigenous people, government procurements and government-owned enterprises, which were among the major concerns by many opposed to the deal.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said Thursday that Malaysia have to explore new markets through participation in free trade agreements such as the ASEAN Economic Community and the Trans-Pacific Partnership as well as the upcoming Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

After more than five years of negotiations, 12 Pacific Rim countries, namely Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Chile, the United States, Australia, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada and Japan, concluded TPP in October 2015. Endit