KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 3): Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has accused the government of going against the federal constitution in its move recently to sign the reciprocal trade deal with the US.

According to the former prime minister, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his government should have secured approval from the Dewan Rakyat prior to cementing such a deal with the US.

“He (Anwar) has no right to pawn our country. If he wishes to do something that contradicts the constitution, he should bring it to the Dewan Rakyat and obtain two-thirds approval. But he did not do so,” Mahathir said at a press conference on Monday (Nov 3).

While the veteran politician did not explain how the deal contradicts the federal constitution, he claimed that it violates Article 153 — which deals with safeguarding the special position of Malays — and “several other” provisions.

“Therefore, because of this agreement, we have lost our country,” he insisted.

Mahathir said a joint resolution has been agreed upon by various political parties, including Berjasa (Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia), Urimai (United for the Rights of Malaysians), Parti Rakyat Malaysia and unnamed non-government organisations in calling for the agreement’s annulment, according to Mahathir.

“We will make efforts to have this agreement annulled. The methods have not yet been determined but there are ways we can act to reject this agreement,” he said.

Criticism of Malaysia’s reciprocal trade deal with the US centres on Article 5.1 of the agreement, which obliges Malaysia to take similar trade actions as the US when the White House imposes tariffs, quotas or other import restrictions on goods and services from a third country for economic or national security reasons.

The article also obliges Malaysia to act against unfair practices by companies from third countries operating within its borders that harm US exports or markets.

Detractors accused the clause of impacting Malaysia’s trade sovereignty.

Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, however, said it only applies to address "shared" economic or national security concerns and is negotiable.

Zafrul dubbed the deal the “best-case scenario” and claimed that a deal not being struck would put Malaysia at risk of higher tariffs from the US.

Anwar, meanwhile, stressed that securing clarity on trade and investment was also necessary and also cited the deal’s exit clause, which would enable Malaysia to pull out of the agreement if necessary.

At the press conference, Mahathir claimed that Anwar is using the exit clause as an excuse, saying it “will not be able to get us out of this trap”.

“The only ‘exit clause’ that exists now is for Anwar and his cabinet to take responsibility and resign,” he jabbed.

Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli earlier also drew attention to the exit clause in the trade agreement with the US, saying Cambodia’s deal with the US contained stronger safeguards.

“Cambodia made it very clear on complementary action that nothing in the agreement can compel them to act against their national sovereignty. We don’t have that,” Rafizi was quoted as saying.

Cambodia is the only other Southeast Asian country besides Malaysia to have inked a reciprocal trade deal with the US. Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore are still at the framework stage.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Parliament’s Special Select Committee on International Relations and Trade, Wong Chen, said the committee will hold a hearing on Nov 12 to review the deal.