KOTA KINABALU: The resumption of parliament next month (September) gives an opportunity for Malaysia to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership so that Malaysia can benefit from being a key member of the RCEP trading bloc, which is the biggest trading bloc in the world.
SAPP President Datuk Yong Teck Lee in a statement said in November 2020, the RCEP agreement was signed by the ten member countries of ASEAN and five big trading nations in the Asia-Pacific region, namely China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. So far, China, Japan and Thailand and Singapore have ratified the RCEP agreement.
According to him, the rules were that six of the ten ASEAN countries and three of the five non-ASEAN countries must ratify the RCEP agreement by their respective parliaments. It will take another sixty days later before the RCEP agreement comes into force.
Therefore, for the RCEP to be effective on January 1, 2022, Malaysia or else other countries shall have to ratify the RCEP not later than end of October this year. I hope our MPs will set aside partisan politics and pass the ratification of RCEP before any further politicking that damages further the economic recovery of Malaysia, he said.
RCEP will lead to lower tariffs among the 15 nations. As a result, trade among RCEP countries will increase, according to him.
He added that such surge in trade will lead to increased economic activities and provide extra impetus for post-pandemic economic recovery.
“A recent study by ACCIM (Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia) showed that RCEP will boost Malaysia’s GDP by up to 1.7% in the medium term. Exports due to RCEP is projected to grow by a whopping 24.4% during the same period.”
Sabah, which is strategically located in the centre of RCEP, stands to benefit from maritime trade, aviation cargo and generally international trade among our biggest trading partners, namely China, Japan and ASEAN countries, he stated.
As such, the people expect our MPs to diligently go to work at parliament and ratify the RCEP agreement in September.-pr/BNN
