UMNO AGM An Umno delegate has asked that the government make the rakyat the true masters behind the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), if it happens.

Johor Umno delegate Suhaimi Salleh said this can be done by properly briefing the public on the agreement and not just put the uninterpreted documents online.

"Who is going to read and understand a 6,000-page agreement?

"How can we decide on Malaysia's future without taking into account the criticisms and concerns of all parties who will surely be affected," Suhaimi said while debating the motion on the economy at today's session of the ongoing 69th Umno general assembly in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the government should make an effort to explain the TPPA to the public properly, especially when the agreement is to be debated in Parliament next year.

"We (the public) may not be the most qualified, nor our knowledge of the economy that great.

"But this is our country, and those of you negotiating (the TPPA) are there because of us.

"Make us the true masters of the political masters," Suhaimi said.

Entrepreneurs ministry

He proposed that a special committee be set up to brief the public on the TPPA, and also for the setting up of an entrepreneurs ministry to prepare Malay businesses for competition brought on by the agreement.

The TPPA is a multinational free trade agreement in which the US is a main proponent. Apart from Malaysia, the other countries involved 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.

Parliament will then vote on whether or not to sign the trade pact during a special sitting in either January or early February.