Govt urged to be careful in FTA talks with US
BERNAMA
November 15, 2006
Govt Urged To Be Careful In FTA Talks With U.S.
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) — Umno Youth, Wednesday urged the government to be careful in its negotiations with the United States (U.S.) over the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries to ensure it is not one-sided and puts the country a loss.
The movement’s information chief, Datuk Azimi Daim, said that Umno Youth was concerned that Malaysia might be cheated as experience had shown that several countries, especially Australia and Canada, had signed lopsided FTAs that favoured the U.S..
"We’re worried. Even Canada has been cheated. We don’t want Malaysia to face the same fate because we have been cheated many times before.
"We hope all FTAs to be entered are scrutinised carefully so that the people are not disappointed by the trust they placed in us," he said when supporting the motion of thanks for the president’s address at this year’s Umno General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre, here Wednesday.
The FTA talks between Malaysia and the U.S. have entered the third round and are expected to be concluded by July next year.
Last year, Malaysia signed an Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan. The deal was said to be unfair because Malaysia had been asked to open its automotive market to Japanese firms while Malaysian companies were only allowed to export fruits to Japan.
Azimi also urged government-linked companies (GLCs) to play a bigger role in raising the people’s socio-economic status, especially the Malays’.
He also called on GLC officers to understand Umno’s struggle and the Malay agenda, and chided those who did not turn up at the party’s assembly.
"At least, show your face here. We support you, you must support us. Remember that without Umno, GLCs won’t exist," he said.
He also said that Umno needed to amicably resolve all the problems and differences of opinion within the party to retain its unity, which was the most crucial asset in the struggle for the wellbeing of its members and the people.
"The people cannot afford to bear the burden of a split in the party which arises from differences of opinion," he added.
