I would like to begin my blogging with a Public Petition. Malaysia needs more concerned people to guide the administraion of the ruling government.
Malaysian Citizens Call For Halt in US-Malaysia FTA Negotiations and for Greater Transparency (English and Bahasa Malaysia)
Online Publication Date: 29 March 2006
This is a public petition to YAB Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and YB Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz to halt all further negotiations with regards to the ongoing US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
The Malaysian government should have at least a comprehensive Cost-Benefit assessment which is made public and transparent as in the case of Environmental Impact Assessments, and most most recently the launch of Social Impact Assessments. The benefits and costs can be assessed in terms of: (a) gains and losses in trade terms: e.g. increase in exports, imports; (b) gains and losses in terms of jobs; (c) effects on the degree of policy space and flexibilities available to the country as a result of the FTA; (d) social effects: on access to affordable medicines, to knowledge, food security etc; (e) effects on technology transfer and development and (f) the cross-cutting social and environmental costs.
Given the lack of transparency and accountability in the on-going negotiations and the strong likelihood of an imbalanced outcome in the US-Malaysia FTA negotiations, a call has been made to the Government to halt all further negotiations in this regard. Until a comprehensive Cost-Benefit assessment is done, which is made public and is open to both Parliamentary and public oversight and feedback and is found to be beneficial to Malaysian citizens, no negotiations should proceed.
The full petition in English and Bahasa Malaysia can be downloaded as below.
Please send a copy of the signed petition to:
Third World Network
2-1, Jalan 31/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480, Kuala Lumpur
Tel : +603 2300 2585
Fax : +603 2300 2595
Direct endorsement can also be sent to: info@ftamalaysia.org
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