The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will allow foreign firms to muscle out local small and medium enterprises, opposition MPs warned today.

Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said if Malaysia signs the TPPA, the government will be required to give equal treatment and protection to foreign companies that want to set up shop here.

"So there's no stopping a firm from the United States, for example, to open high-tech satellite offices in Malaysia offering services that local SMEs do.

"These SMEs will then lose to the competition and close shop," Jeyakumar ( photo ) said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Batu MP Tian Chua said the opposition was not anti-competition, but simply wants there to be a chance for local companies to compete.

"You can't have a school run where everyone from Standard One to Standard Six can run in the same race and see who gets the trophy.

"We simply want there to be a way to let in competition at our own pace, with national interest in mind," Chua said.

Jeyakumar added that besides muscling out local SMEs, the nation will also be losing out as these local firms are not obligated to re-invest their funds back in Malaysia.

On Oct 5, 12 countries led by the United States reached a deal on the TPPA, described as the most sweeping trade liberalisation pact in a generation that will cut trade barriers and set common standards for the member countries.

The deal is considered to be a legacy-defining achievement for outgoing US President Barack Obama. It will affect 40 percent of the world economy and has to be ratified by the US Congress as well as the other member countries.

For more details on the TPPA, go here , in the website of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.