How much do premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Najib Abdul Razak really know about the free trade agreement (FTA) that the US is negotiating with Malaysia?

Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) council member Mohd Nizam Mahshar posed the question in the wake of calls by the top two leaders to the US not to insert 'politically-related matters' into the 'business' of the FTA talks.

The two had responded to a statement by senior US congressman Tom Lantos ( photo ) who had demanded the suspension of the FTA talks over a Malaysian company's RM57 billion deal with an Iranian state-owned oil company.

Lantos, who heads the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said the deal between Malaysia's SKS Group and the National Iranian Oil Company to develop Iran's southern Golshan and Ferdos gas fields and build liquefied natural gas was "abhorrent" and a "disturbing development".

Abdullah then said Malaysia rejects the pressure inflicted on the country and that "We are a sovereign country and have our own stand".

"This is a question of business. Do not insert politically-related matters to the talks. For this agreement, no political matter is needed to be brought to the negotiating table," he added.

Mohd Nizam, however, pointed out that the US Trade Representative (USTR) had, in the March 2006 'Trade Facts' briefing document, made it clear that US business and economic objectives stood alongside the advancing of broader US strategic goals.

"According to the (document), a FTA with Malaysia will advance 'other' important policy goals, including supporting our partnership on security. (It also) talks of Malaysia being a 'moderate Muslim country' in a 'critical part of the world' and 'an important partner in the war on terror', Mohd Nizam said when contacted.

"I don't know what Abdullah and Najib were talking about when they said US should keep politics out of the FTA talks. Politics is part and parcel of the FTA. Their statements do not seem to show they know what exactly is at stake."

Uncertainty prevails

An angry Rafidah Aziz, who is Minister of International Trade and Industry (Miti), said after Lantos's criticism that Malaysia was ready to suspend the negotiations.

USTR Susan Schwab said, however, that she had yet to see a letter from Lantos demanding suspension of the talks.

"We are pressing ahead with our negotiations with Malaysia for a free trade agreement," she told reporters.

Opposition to the FTA, meanwhile, has gathered momentum, with groups citing fears of higher medicine prices, marginalisation of local agriculture and industries, and lack of transparency in the negotiations.

On Saturday, the Anti-US FTA Action Committee for the Northern Region urged Rafidah to disclose the status and substance of negotiations.

Citing Rafidah's assurance that rice would not be a matter for discussion, the committee said the US' disagreement with Malaysia's exclusion of rice from the talks compels Miti to clarify its position.

"The government should be open and transparent to the people, in line with the call by (Abdullah) for a government with more transparency and integrity," said committee chairperson Che Ani Mat Zain in a statement.

The negotiations are currently bogged down by several sticking points and may not be completed by July as scheduled.