Expect US to keep close watch on M'sia over TPPA

by Koh Jun Lin     Published 28 Nov 2015     Source : Malaysiakini

United States will be expected to scrutinise Malaysian laws to see whether the country has held up its end of the bargain in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

When that happens, according to Klang MP Charles Santiago, Malaysia's claims that it only needs to provide five years of data exclusivity for biologics will not hold water.

 “As part of the requirement by the US Congress to accept a free trade agreement, there is something called a certification process.

A bleak future awaits workers under TPPA, warns MP

by Koh Jun Lin     Published 28 Nov 2015     Source : Malaysiakini

Subcontracted and outsourced labourers with no job security nor benefits will become more widespread in Malaysia under the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), warned Klang MP Charles Santiago.

Presently, he said, Malaysian law allows only the plantation sector to hire such workers, although it is also prevalent in other sectors, despite it being illegal.

However, with Malaysia signing a TPPA side agreement with the United States, this will allow all sectors of the Malaysian economy to hire outsourced labour.

DAP claims TPP side deal will risk job security for blue- and white-collar workers in Malaysia

November 27, 2015     Source : The Malay Mail Online

PETALING JAYA, Nov 27 — The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) side agreement on labour between Malaysia and the US will expose factory and even office workers to job insecurity as it will legalise labour outsourcing and subcontracting, a DAP lawmaker said today.

Klang MP Charles Santiago from the DAP said workers who are outsourced and subcontracted, which is currently legal only in the plantation sector but practised widely in factories across sectors, do not have security of tenure nor social protections like the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Socso.

“Subcontracting and outsourcing sets a dangerous precedent,” Santiago told a press briefing here.

Worker protections under TPPA just window dressing, says opposition MP

November 27, 2015    From : HAKAM    Originally from : The Malaysian Insider

Worker protections in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) actually amount to nothing, an opposition lawmaker said, as Putrajaya seeks to play up these widely lauded aspects of the contentious pact.

Klang MP Charles Santiago said a big reason for this is because the TPPA would legalise labour sub-contractors and out-sourcing companies, which are notorious for the way they treat workers.

In fact, legally, the Malaysian government currently does not allow labour contracting except in the plantation sector due to problems in how they operate and treat workers.

Drug prices won’t rise? Rubbish, says Klang MP

by  Sheith Khidhir Bin Abu Bakar  November 27, 2015     Source : Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA: Klang MP Charles Santiago today censured a senior official of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) for claiming that medicine prices will not go up when the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) comes into force.

Reacting to a statement made yesterday by J Jayasiri, MITI’s Deputy Director-General for Strategy and Monitoring, Santiago said prices would remain high as long as protection was in place.

“Protection means that there will be a form of monopoly,” he told FMT. He cited the case of Jordan, where he said prices went up 17 per cent after protection was put in place.

US-China battle for Asean - where do we stand?

by Koh Jun Lin     Published 21 Nov 2015    Source : Malaysiakini

While Malaysia plays to both sides as the United States and China jockey for influence in the Asean region, Klang MP Charles Santiago warned that Malaysia will not be able to keep this up forever.

Charles said China has not has not been sitting idly while the US tried to solidify its influence through the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), but instead has been bankrolling projects around the Asean region, including in Malaysia.

This can be expected to intensify next year, he said, if Malaysia’s economy grows weaker and the government is forced to cut its budget further.

TPPA signatories must be set to lose assets in disputes

by Koh Jun Lin     Published 21 Nov 2015     Source : Malaysiakini

Governments that fail to pay up after losing an Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) lawsuit are likely to see their foreign assets seized by investors, Klang MP Charles Santiago said.

Charles said the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which also has provisions for an ISDS, allows for such seizures to take place.

As an example, he said, a German company that won an ISDS case against Thailand had once learned that Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn had landed in Germany in a private jet.