Malaysia too hasty in signing EFTA trade agreement

THE Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) expresses deep disappointment over the Malaysian government’s decision to rush into signing a trade agreement with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland that together form the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) on June 23 in Norway.

The government failed to address critical concerns raised in CAP’s memorandum submitted earlier this month, based on the leaked text of the intellectual property (IP) annex to the Malaysia-EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement (Meepa). The full text of Meepa has now been published. Contents of the IP Annex are substantially the same as the leaked text.