Pakatan Rakyat today said it was, in principle, not opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) but said it will pursue provisions that are unfair to Malaysia.

pakatan convention ampang 230613 Speaking at the opening of the Pakatan Rakyat leadership convention in Ampang today, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim urged the coalition's MPs to look at the matter objectively.

"I know there are some hard views but at our leadership council, in principle we do not reject any form of free trade agreement including the TPPA.

"But provisions that may burden the people or surrender our authority to other countries must be scrutinised," he said.

However, he noted that such agreement could also benefit the country as Malaysia is heavily reliant on foreign direct investments and such an agreement can fuel that.

Don't ape South Korea

"It is unreasonable to reject the agreement altogether but provisions that burden the rakyat is equally unreasonable.

"Therefore, the Pakatan Rakyat leadership must scrutinise and build consensus in determining which provision in the agreement needs to be re-looked so that negotiations in the free trade agreement will not (adversely) impact our country," he told the audience comprising some 200 lawmakers.

He reiterated that Malaysia must take a strong stance in the negotiations of the TPPA and not be like South Korea that received heavy pressure when negotiating a free trade agreement with the United States.

He also urged MPs to gear up for a battle as Parliament convenes tomorrow in pushing former Federal Court judge Abdul Kadir Sulaiman as its candidate for speaker in the house.

"When we go into Parliament tomorrow, our goal must be nothing short of establishing moral, ethical and intellectual leadership.

"We represent the people of majority of Malaysians in articulating a vision of hope for a new and better Malaysia," he said.