PUTRAJAYA: Farming and consumer NGOs want to know if Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu studied the impact of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on the agricultural sector before agreeing with the government's decision to ratify the agreement.
The 54 groups, represented by the Malaysia Food Sovereignty Forum, handed over a memorandum to Mohamad at his ministry on Thursday (Dec 29).
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Forum head coordinator Nurfitri Amir Muhammad said the CPTPP infringes upon the rights of farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen and will have a negative impact on the country's food security and sovereignty.
"Does the government now only care about the exporters (and not) the local farmers and fishermen who work hard every day to ensure that the country's food security can be met?" he asked.
Mohamad declined to answer any questions from the media, merely stating: "It is their right to pass the memorandum to me."
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He had been asked why the memorandum was being delivered to him and not the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti), which was in charge of ratifying the CPTPP on behalf of the government.
In the memorandum, Nurfitri claimed that without any action on the government's part, Malaysia may lose control of its food and product supply and prices to other countries.
"What we are saying is not new. Before the last government’s Cabinet meeting to ratify the agreement on Sept 30, other memos and media statements had been made by farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen and relevant NGOs urging it not to ratify the agreement in haste.
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"However, our words are often labelled by profiteering capitalists and open market advocates as baseless and unfounded.
"If the parties supporting this agreement claim that the CPTPP will allow them to export more goods and make greater profits, on what basis do they deny farmers the right to share and sell seeds freely and deny fishermen the right to fish freely just because they want to export more?" the memorandum read.
Among the effects of the CPTPP it listed are: denying farmers' rights to share and sell seeds; depriving fishermen of the right to catch certain types of fish; increasing costs to farmers and breeders; and difficulties in implementing CPTPP mechanisms on the ground.
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The three-page memorandum was endorsed by famers, livestock breeders and fisherfolk organisations, consumer associations and environmental organisations.
It was also ratified by entrepreneur and economic associations, social, human rights, health, religious and cultural organisations, research and development organisations and political parties.
In October, the previous government stated that Malaysia had ratified the CPTPP following the government’s submission of the instrument of ratification to New Zealand, the depository country, on Sept 30.
At the time, Miti said the ratification came after years of detailed deliberation, extensive consultations and careful assessment by the government.
