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INVESTMENT, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz has refuted claims by Perikatan Nasional (PN) Secretary-General Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali that the Reciprocal Trade Agreement (ART) signed by Malaysia compromises national sovereignty.
Tengku Zafrul clarified that the clause cited by Azmin, Clause 5.1, had been quoted selectively and out of context.
“When reading an agreement, we must read it in full, not halfway. The clause he referred to is Clause 5.1. What does Clause 5.1 actually say? He only quoted the first sentence and part of the second,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
According to Tengku Zafrul, the clause in question states: “Upon receiving such notification from the United States, Malaysia shall adopt or maintain a measure having an equivalent restrictive effect to that taken by the United States or agree to an implementation timeline acceptable to both parties to address shared concerns relating to national security or economic issues.”
He emphasised the importance of the final phrase. “I repeat the last part — to address shared national security or economic concerns. What does that mean? It means such measures are intended to deal with mutual national security or economic issues,” he explained.
“The key word here is ‘shared’. This means that if the issue only affects the national security or economy of the United States but has no impact on Malaysia’s, then we are not obliged to consider it,” he added.
Earlier, Azmin had alleged that the ART was not a reciprocal arrangement as portrayed, but rather amounted to a surrender of Malaysia’s economic sovereignty to the United States.
He argued that the agreement gave Washington disproportionate control over Malaysia’s economic policies while allowing the US to freely pursue measures that benefit its own industries. - October 29, 2025
