He also suggested that academics and representatives of NGOs and the TPPA parliament caucus be allowed to present alternative opinions at the briefings. This would be in the interest of transparency, he said.

“People are expected to believe the government’s version of the trade agreement,” he said. “And the government, pointing to the number of briefings conducted, can then say that it is satisfied the people have been informed.”

He alleged that the briefings were largely designed to give people a “good feeling” about the TPPA and to “roll out” the government’s view on the trade agreement in order to secure support from a variety of stakeholders.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is too complicated to be explained in the short briefings the government is giving to the public, according to Klang MP Charles Santiago.