The government has been urged to translate all the legal jargon in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) text into something everyone can understand.

Klang DAP lawmaker Charles Santiago said this is because the 10,000 page text as it is, is so complicated that many cannot understand it.

"People are complaining that they can't understand it, even businessmen. And you can't even go to just one lawyer because there are many issues [...] the same lawyer can't be an expert in all these fields," the MP told Malaysiakini.

The other problem, he said, was the language barrier as the agreement is entirely in English.

"Most Malaysians can't read English, they can't understand. Even if you can read English, you are now reading a legal text.

"So I've made a proposal to International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed to translate it to Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil; say what does it mean in a language that we speak," Charles added.

He said this needed to be done quickly because there was not much time before Parliament deliberated on the matter.

Mustapa has said that the TPPA may be debated in Parliament in January or early Februrary.

The TPPA is a multinational free trade agreement in which the US is a main proponent. Apart from Malaysia, other countries involved in its secretive negotiations include Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Mexico, and Canada, among others.

A cost-benefit analysis of the agreement is scheduled to be released in two weeks’ time.