Contrary to assertions by a leading economist, International Trade and Industries Minister Mustapa Mohamed today said both Thailand and the Philippines have openly stated their interests in signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

"I know them. They are my colleagues and have made public statements about it. We were at a conference in Japan two months ago and they all came to see me to talk about the TPPA.

"They have been on record to say they are interested to be part of TPPA. It's public knowledge and there is no secret," he told reporters after a TPPA dialogue session at the MITI Tower in Kuala Lumpur.

Mustapa said this in response to economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram, who yesterday asked the government why countries such as Thailand and the Philippines opted to distance themselves from the trade treaty.

While Malaysia touted the benefits of TPPA, Jomo ( photo ) said the Philippine government appears to be not interested in the TPPA even with existing close ties with the US.

On Jomo's citing of research findings that shows TPPA will only have a marginal impact on the economy, Mustapa stressed that no party can make such a prediction with any degree of certainty.

"In my introduction I had said two things. Miti's vision (is for Malaysia) to be one of the top 10 trading nations.

"I know the world is changing... you cannot predict anything with any degrees of certainty," he said.

Mustapa, however, stressed that he respected Jomo's views despite having a different world view on potential benefits of the TPPA for Malaysia.

Earlier, the two-hour briefing session was attended by MPs from both BN and opposition parties.

Mustapa said he had answered all the questions that were raised, including concerns from the opposition lawmakers.

“Many opposition MPs attended. There were a lot of questions but I don't want to go into details now.

"We were successful in providing answers that satisfied them. One of the opposition MPs even said, 'its not a bad deal after all'," he said.

Opposition MPs unconvinced

When met after the briefing, PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail however said she remains unconvinced by the government's explanations, noting that the TPPA terms had departed from Malaysia's previous non-aligned trade policy to siding with the US.

"He (Mustapa) was trying to illustrate possible impacts of TPPA but he cannot predict what will happen in the future," she said in insisting that the opposition lawmakers will continue to vote against the TPPA, scheduled to be debated at a special parliamentary session on Jan 26.

PKR Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen, meanwhile, questioned whether there are political reasons behind Malaysia's willingness to allegedly compromise its sovereignty for marginal economic benefits.

"Overall this is becoming more foreign policy than economic trade ties issue," he said, adding that Foreign Minister Anifah Aman must also step forward to provide explanation from a geo-political perspective.