KUALA LUMPUR: International Trade and Industry Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali maintained that the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government had never agreed to reject the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Azmin was involved in a verbal exchange with Lim Guan Eng in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday over the issue when he said the PH government Cabinet had on Sept 5, 2018, agreed to ratify the CPTTP albeit without imposing a time limit on it.
Lim, who was Finance Minister during the PH administration, had rejected his claim, saying that the PH Cabinet had not agreed to the ratification.
In a statement today, Azmin said Lim's line of questioning on the CPTTP issue during the session was "political in nature and irresponsible."
Azmin stressed that his answer was based on the Cabinet's decision on Sept 5, 2018, in which the PH administration had agreed to the ratification without setting a timeframe.
"Several follow-up discussions concerning the CPTTP at Cabinet-level took place throughout 2019 and early 2020, with the aim of evaluating Malaysia's readiness to complete the domestic processes, especially on finalising amendments to legislation in order to ratify the CPTTP.
"The Pakatan Harapan Cabinet never made the decision to reject the CPTTP, as claimed by Lim.
"As such, Lim's statement is confusing and made with ill-intent in order to twist the facts. This should not have come from someone who held a key portfolio in the Pakatan Harapan Cabinet at the time," he said.
Azmin said he was leaving it to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker to decide on the appropriate action.
Malaysia is among four countries including Brunei, Chile, and Peru which have yet to ratify the CPTPP, which comprises 11 countries.
Countries which have ratified the agreement are Australia, Japan, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand and Mexico.
Azmin had yesterday said that the CPTPP would open up new markets with preferred treatment for Malaysia in three countries, namely Canada, Mexico and Peru.