The Malaysian government is undertaking a series of bilateral negotiations with the United States to conclude what would be a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the world's only superpower - politically, militarily, culturally and economically.

No empire has dominated the world as thoroughly as the United States. From the US perspective, the FTA is yet another excellent instrument of control.

From the Malaysian government's perspective, the FTA is key in ensuring continued foreign direct investment (FDI), especially from the US. The only problem being, this time around, if the FDI do come in, it would be determined strictly by market sentiments.

International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz was quoted as saying, "The government will not entertain any requests that will impede on the New Economic Policy or Malay interests by any country". Famous last words from the minister?