in a series of briefing sessions by the Government and that there were no
in-depth discussions on this matter. In relation thereto, the Commission
recommends that a Parliamentary Select Committee be established to
study the TPPA, with the mandate to present their findings to Parliament.
Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA)
The Commission recommends that the Government conduct a HRIA of
the TPPA in addition to the two cost-benefit analysis studies that have
been conducted. One important element of corporate human rights due
diligence, as outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights, is the identification and assessment of any actual or potential
adverse human rights impacts, with the view to effectively addressing
them. Processes to identify and assess these impacts may be stand-alone
initiatives, such as a HRIA. This move is also in line with the Group of UN
Experts recommendation that countries should conduct a HRIA before
entering into any trade agreement.
CHAPTER 1
•
Recently, it was reported that the American President-elect Donald Trump has
said that the US will pull out of the TPPA on his first day in the White House. Following
that, the Second Minister of International Trade and Industry, Dato’ Seri Ong Ka
Chuan announced that Malaysia, together with the other 10 member nations
in the TPPA, may carry on without the US if a requirement clause is amended.
Based on the agreed TPPA, the deal can only come into force if it is approved by
six countries that account for at least 85 per cent of the TPP economic output.
In effect, the deal will be dead without ratification by the US, whose economy
makes up 60 percent of the TPP economic worth. Given the situation above, the
Commission will continue to monitor this issue, especially with regard to whether
the 11 remaining member nations will proceed with the deal without the US.
2.
FOLLOW-UP TO THE NATIONAL INQUIRY INTO THE LAND RIGHTS OF
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
On 3 June, YB Senator Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department, announced the formation of a Cabinet Committee on
Native Land Rights which will be headed by Deputy Prime Minister to address,
monitor, and implement the findings of the Government Task Force’s report. The
Cabinet Committee’s role would also include that of an independent National
Commission, as recommended by the Commission in its NI report.
On 7 April the inaugural meeting of the Cabinet Committee which was chaired
by YAB Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the Deputy Prime Minister, was held. At
the meeting, the following recommendations were made:
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