COMMENT Allow me to dispel some misconceptions raised by some supporters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) who seem genuinely concerned about wanting Malaysia to submit to a higher ‘rule of law’ trade regime yet appear naïve in making those assumptions.

Is the rejection of the TPPA a retreat into isolationism?

These supporters of the TPPA argue that a rejection of the TPPA is a retreat into isolationism. Some even use the examples of North Korea and Iran to scare Malaysians into accepting the Agreement. This is disingenuous indeed.

For a start, North Korea and Iran have been forced into isolation because of sanctions applied by the world community. On the other hand, Malaysia, which is modelled along liberal democratic lines, has one of the most open globally interconnected economies in the world, without being in the TPPA.