He said this was evident from PricewaterhouseCooper’s cost-benefit analysis as it related to wages.
Speaking at a press conference at the Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Melayu headquarters today, Azlan said the improvement of RM25 in salaries did not justify signing the TPPA and thereby placing Malaysia in danger of having its sovereignty eroded, losing its policymaking space, being limited in its pursuit of nation building, and facing high costs in medical treatment for a prolonged period. He said these were only some of the expected hazards associated with TPPA.
“It’s incredible that the touted high quality, gold standard, 21st Century trade agreement can result only in a measly RM25 improvement to our workers’ mean monthly wages,” he added.
With Malaysians suffering under the weight of high living costs, he said, 95 per cent of them were currently concerned mainly with how much their wages would increase, whether they would be able to keep their jobs in the coming years, whether new jobs would be created, whether there would be better jobs, and whether the cost of living would be lower relative to their incomes.
“It is very sad that the GDP and investment figures are highlighted prominently, but not gains for the people at large, for the households and workers,” he said.