KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 6): Prominent economist Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram today said he is disappointed with the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal between Malaysia and 11 other Pacific Rim countries which was reached yesterday (Oct 5), deeming it an "investment deal".

"That (TPPA) is not a trade deal, it is an investment deal," said Jomo, who is also assistant secretary-general of economic development in the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

"Malaysia gets next to nothing. I was extremely disappointed and I think it is going to affect not only the Malaysian business community, but also the consumers and citizens adversely," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Khazanah Megatrend Forum 2015 today.

He said the agreement is mainly driven by "political considerations" for the US to isolate China.

"Hence, it (TPPA) is not really to help Malaysia, and (the) trade advantages are very minimal," he added.

Jomo cited Malaysia, which has been producing solar panels, being prohibited to sell the solar panels in the US and elsewhere under the pact.

"This is contravening the multi-lateral trade agreements and I do not expect the TPPA to overcome this," he said.

According to Jomo, the main impact of the TPPA would be the increasing cost of intellectual property, which will have many implications on electronics and cost of medication.

"We can wipe out many diseases in the world, but the people who control the drugs are depriving people of the world from benefitting it," he said.

"This is scandalous, inhumane. I can't explain why Malaysia agreed to this."

Secondly, he noted disputes will be settled in a new arbitrary court, should any arise.

"In most of the arbitration panel, for sure, it is the foreign complaints that will have more resources, compared to Malaysia side," he explained.

Based on his observations, the developing countries were not well prepared for TPPA during the negotiations.

"Everybody knows that developing countries were very weakly prepared and, basically, had just accepted what was given to them.

"It was the developed countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan [that] were resisting to it, and US did compromise with them," he added.

When asked if there were any benefits for Malaysia in signing the agreement, Jomo said: "The president of the US may look upon the prime minister of Malaysia in a more friendly manner for the next 16 months of his tenure.

"And after he's (US President Barack Obama) gone, I don't know what we will sell out on, to endear ourselves for the next president of the US," he said.

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin reiterated the national interest will not be compromised under the proposed TPPA pact.

"The deal will only be signed, once it was approved by the Cabinet and Parliament," he said.

MIDF Research noted that the concern by most activists around the world regarding pharmaceutical patent protection, has also been agreed to be compromised between 5 to 8 years period, compared to the demand from the US for 12 years.

"The details of the agreement are yet being made public at this point of time, we will be waiting for the details from the government to assess the impact of the agreement on Malaysia's economy," the research firm said in a note to clients today.