Former prime minister Dr Mahathir said Malaysia should not feel pressured into signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) just because of President Barack Obama's visit to Malaysia, beginning today.

"We should not be compelled to sign (the TPPA) although a leader of a big country is visiting a small country like us. In the end, we will be at the losing end," Mahathir told reporters in Putrajaya yesterday.

He was commenting on concerns expressed by certain parties that Obama's visit to Malaysia could pressure the government into signing the TPPA.

International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said on Tuesday that no agreement would be signed during Obama's visit.

The three-day visit by Obama will be the first official visit to Malaysia by a US president after President Lyndon B Johnson's visit in 1966.

Obama began his Asian tour by visiting Japan and South Korea before arriving in Kuala Lumpur and will head back to Washington after stopping over in the Philippines.

- Bernama