COMMENT A few days ago, I met a prominent political observer and academic in South-East Asia. She asked me to rate, on a scale of one to five, on how much Malaysia will benefit from participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

My explanation to her was brief and concise. Malaysia’s participation in the TPPA is not monocausal.

The TPPA is a complex agreement because the dynamics of the world economy is such. The complexity of trade agreements is not only apparent in the TPPA but also in other agreements such as with the European Union.