Support TPPA because Chinese control trade and business in Malaysia?

Hadi: DAP supports TPPA because Chinese control business
PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang accused DAP for supporting the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) as the Chinese community controls most of the business in the country.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng claimed that his party was firmly against Malaysia signing the deal as it would purportedly cause nearly 40 per cent of SMEs to close down. — Picture by K.E. Ooi

Accused by PAS of backing TPP for Chinese concerns, DAP insists firmly against trade deal - TPPA not about race or religion, Lim tells Hadi

The Trans-Pacific Partnership will be detrimental to Malaysians by causing prices to increase and killing off small— and medium-sized enterprises, Lim Guan Eng said today when reaffirming DAP’s rejection of the trade deal.

Disputing PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that the Chinese domination of local industry meant that DAP was supportive of the TPP, Lim said that race and religion did not factor into the support or otherwise for the free trade agreement.

The DAP secretary-general claimed that his party was firmly against Malaysia signing the deal as it would purportedly cause nearly 40 per cent of SMEs to close down.

“This is a fact that the federal government has yet to address,” the Penang lawmaker said in a statement released today.

“Malaysians would expect such misrepresentation of DAP’s position or a racially-tinged statement from Umno but for a PAS leader to indulge in such baseless untruths shows that PAS is now not only co-operating with Umno but also adopting Umno’s dirty politics of slander against the DAP,” Lim said.

He pointed out that the TPP is initiated by Umno not by DAP and that the the agreement is led by the United States to restrict China’s influence geo-politically.

“Using Hadi’s logic, then Umno must be Chinese too for initiating the passing of the TPP in Parliament. Why then does Hadi continue to work with Umno and even advice the BN federal government?”

He then told Hadi that he should not be against TPP if he is “so anti-Chinese”, but to support the TPP to oppose China.

Lim also asked why Hadi chose not to criticise Umno for spearheading Malaysia’s involvement in the TPP if PAS were sincere in its opposition to the deal, adding that PAS now appeared to be on congenial terms with the lynchpin of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

Last week, Hadi accused DAP of agreeing to the TPP because the Chinese control trade in Malaysia.

This is despite the DAP announcing that it would vote against the TPP if Putrajaya could not clarify the impact of the agreement.

Parliament will convene a special session this week to discuss Malaysia’s participation in the TPP.

A rally was held during the weekend to oppose Malaysia’s signing of the free trade deal, although Pakatan Harapan parties such as DAP and PKR were poorly represented.

Hadi ticked off over his narrow views of TPPA





KUALA LUMPUR: PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (pic right >) has been taken to task for linking support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) to the Chinese community.

MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon chided Hadi for having narrow views of the agreement.

“How can it be of Chinese interest when the agreement includes other nations such as Japan, Canada and the United States?” he asked after opening SMK Cheng Perdana’s Lim Kok Yeong multi-purpose hall here yesterday.

He urged Hadi to “wake-up” to the realities of globalisation where the agreement would benefit the nation as a whole.

“Please don’t use racial lenses to look at everything.

“It is a shame that there are still leaders talking like this even as we are about to become a high income developed nation in four years’ time,” he said.

MCA religious harmony bureau chairman Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker also said that the TPPA was about trade and should not be turned into a racial issue. It was ridiculous to put a racial tag on trade and commerce, he said, adding that Hadi’s remarks were an attempt to use race or religion for political gain.

In a statement, Ti said he was glad that many Malaysians had woken up to these racial tauntings and the “underhand” move of using the Chinese community as a punching bag or the bogeyman.

He said liberated Malaysians and the educated new generations had moved beyond colour or creed.

Malaysians, irrespective of races, were collaborating in business partnerships and this was a positive trend, he added.

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