MP SPEAKS I have written to the Parliament's secretary, with copies to speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia and DAP whip Loke Siew Fook, on my medical leave from the Jan 26 and 27 sitting.

I am still recovering from Bell's palsy, a paralysis of the facial nerve.

If I were present, I would vote against the TPPA, alongside with other DAP and Pakatan Harapan MPs.

I probably would ask for a chance to speak against the deal, too.

Much as I regret my absence at this critical vote, I am comforted by the fact that the DAP does have very strong and well-informed speakers for the debate.

Charles Santiago, the MP for Klang ( photo ), has been a long-time opponent to unfair trade deals.

I just read Ong Kian Ming's presentation on the TPPA, which he presented at the DAP retreat on Jan 16 and 17. I am very impressed by the comprehensiveness and his grasp of the subject matter.

I suspect he is one of the very few inside and outside Parliament who has read all the relevant documents.

A woman entrepreneur came to me at the clinic where I undergo acupuncture treatment. She said she was utterly confused about the TPPA.

And that's the whole trouble. There isn't a genuine and candid debate.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak wants to get it passed because it maintains his standing in the eyes of the United States, while also extracting all sorts of benefits and deals with China, such as the 1MDB power and land deals.

US President Barack Obama wants to get it done as such deals help US industries to export.

International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed's argument that the TPPA will generate higher investment is fictional.

First, Malaysia's challenge is not the lack of foreign direct investment (FDI). After all, Malaysian institutions have so much funds to allow them to participate in property speculation in London or Australia. Something is very wrong here.

The Malaysan private sector also has funds and resources to invest. What they lack is confidence in the future of the Malaysian economy.

Second, the real challenge for the Malaysian economy is to upgrade skills, productivity and wages.

There is no point in attracting FDI that hire only unskilled foreign labour.

The TPPA is not going to help Malaysia to end the vicious low wage, low skill and low productivity cycle.

GDP growth?

And the argument that GDP will grow through the TPPA is also not true.

Quality growth can only come when Malaysia is competing against Korea for technologies; not competing with Vietnam or Indonesia for cheap labour.

Najib's argument that if we don't sign the TPPA, Vietnam or others would reap the benefits or fill the vacuum just shows that he doesn't understand economics.

Yes, some sectors may benefit from the TPPA - textiles, automotive and electronics and engineering (E&E).

Tell me where our textile industry is. My answer is - a tiny presence in Batu Pahat, with the rest of them owned by Malaysians situated in Vietnam.

In other words, there is hardly any textile industry in Malaysia, anyway.

How about automotive? The worldwide automotive industry is a sunset industry.

With climate change a serious challenge and with the Paris Agreement slowly coming into implementation, the car industry won't go too far.

And, you think suddenly US consumers would turn to Proton as their car of choice?

The E&E sector may benefit from the deal.

But again, with or without TPPA, if the E&E sector is competing with Korea and not Vietnam or Indonesia, it really doesn't matter if you sign on to the TPPA or not.

Some argue that TPPA promotes transparency domestically.

One must understand the nature of trade deals.

Trade deals are negotiated by governments and each of them have their constituents and lobbyists to deal with.

The TPPA is a wish list of the US lobbyists/corporations, plus a wish list of those governments involved.

The jargon is 'carve-outs'. There is nothing in a trade deal that promotes 'free' trade.

Never expect a foreign trade deal to bring transparency.

I won't go into the question of cost to Malaysia as many have written excellent analyses on medical costs, governments being sued by corporations, etc.

I urge all to vote against the TPPA.

LIEW CHIN TONG is the MP for Kluang and DAP political education director.