Malaysia has voiced disappointment with the move by the US to exit the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPPA).

Describing it as an unfortunate turnaround for the global economy, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Muhammad Ibrahim said many things had been left unclear with the US’ withdrawal.

“Closing borders and building walls is not right, as policymakers must be more connected to the needs of the people,” he said in his keynote address at the 2017 BNF-IMF Summer Conference in conjunction with the International Monetary Fund in Kuala Lumpur today.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to formally withdraw from the TPP, following through on a promise made during his presidential campaign.

The TPP accord was negotiated by former president Barack Obama's administration and signed by 12 countries in 2015.

Muhammad said there were three points to be taken seriously for globalisation to be accepted by the world community, namely equity, people-centred policy approaches, and embracing technological advancement.

“The world is changing rapidly and countries need to find a way to maximise growth. However, the policy approaches must leave a positive impact on the community,” he added.

He said communication must be effective to disperse information and avoid misconception for the world population to understand the benefits of globalisation.

“There are movements that fight globalisation worldwide and we need to face this, as there are pros and cons in the policy itself,” he added.

In terms of embracing technological advancements, Muhammad said that by 2020, over 24 billion devices would be connected to the Internet, and it would be a waste if the opportunity was not capitalised upon.

“We need to widen the horizon of globalisation by including those impacted the most through policies. This is a path to creating one global nation for the next generation,” he added.

The two-day conference ends tomorrow. 

- Bernama