Let there be no illusion. What the Anwar Ibrahim administration has signed is not a trade agreement. It is a document of national surrender—a wholesale, unconditional capitulation of Malaysian sovereignty to American imperial interests. This is a “Pact with the Devil,” a treacherous deal that shackles our nation’s future, auctioning off our dignity, our wealth, and our right to self-determination for a pittance of geopolitical validation.
Total Capitulation: From Sovereign Nation to American Vassal State
The core of this so-called “agreement” is the systematic dismantling of Malaysian governance. The Madani government has not negotiated; it has knelt. It has granted the United States veto power over the very pillars of our state:
- Our Economy: America now has a say in the role of our GLCs/GLICs, who can invest here, and with whom we can trade.
- Our Culture: They will dictate what is broadcast on our television, forcing the dissolution of the 80% local content rule and allowing foreign programming to dominate prime time.
- Our Health and Safety: They have seized control of what we deem safe to eat and which medicines we can use, rendering our own NPRA and MDA powerless in the face of FDA diktats.
The Malaysian Parliament and Cabinet have been reduced to a rubber-stamp committee for policies drafted in Washington. This isn’t diplomacy; it is colonization.
A Calculated Insult: The RM1 Trillion Heist
Behold the price of our subservience. To receive the same 19% tariff concession, Thailand was asked to purchase US$20 billion in American goods. Malaysia, however, was strong-armed into a staggering US$240 billion (over RM1 trillion) commitment.
This is not a negotiation; it is an extortion racket. It reveals what the Madani government truly is in the eyes of Washington: a desperate, weak administration willing to be grossly overcharged for the “privilege” of its own subjugation. Where is the national pride? This is economic rape, masquerading as policy.
The Great Loot: Plundering Our RM800 Billion Rare Earth Treasure
This agreement contains one of the most predatory clauses ever signed by a sovereign nation: the unconditional surrender of our rare earth and critical minerals. Malaysia has agreed to impose zero quotas on exports to the US. We are not just selling; we are gifting long-term mining licenses to American corporations to pillage resources valued at an estimated RM800 billion.
This is not development; it is a fire sale of our children’s inheritance. We will be left with the toxic fallout, the environmental devastation, and empty mines, while American tech giants reap the astronomical profits. This is a betrayal of the highest order.
The Death of Foreign Policy: Forced into America’s Geopolitical Cage
Articles 5.1 and 5.2 are a brutal assassination of Malaysia’s “neutral and non-aligned” foreign policy.
- Article 5.1 transforms Malaysia into America’s poodle, legally obligating us to parrot any and all sanctions Washington imposes on third countries like China, Russia, or Iran. Our independent foreign policy is dead.
- Article 5.2 goes further, allowing the US to screen and veto strategic investments entering Malaysia.
We are no longer a nation with our own voice. We are a mouthpiece for the US State Department, a puppet state compelled to dance to whatever tune Washington plays.
The Assault on Our Health, Faith, and Food Security
The agreement’s venom reaches into the most intimate aspects of Malaysian life.
- Medical Sovereignty (Article 2.4): The FDA is now our de facto Ministry of Health. Their approval is final. If a drug unsafe for Malaysians is approved in the US, our people will be the lab rats. This is criminal negligence.
- Halal Integrity (Article 2.5): This is a direct attack on Islam in Malaysia. It forces us to accept America’s own, self-certified Halal logos, bulldozing the authority of JAKIM and making a mockery of our religious standards.
- GMO Invasion (Articles 2.11 & 2.12): The floodgates are forced open for unlabeled, unregulated Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Processed GMO products require no local approval. The Departments of Agriculture and Health are deliberately neutered. America will decide what is safe for Malaysians to eat.
The Final Nail in the Coffin for Bumiputra Economic Agendas
Clause 6.2 (Commercial Considerations) is a deliberate and malicious tool to destroy the Bumiputra agenda. It mandates that GLCs/GLICs like Petronas and Tenaga Nasional operate on purely “commercial” terms, effectively outlawing affirmative action for Bumiputera and local companies.
This is not free trade; it is economic ethnic cleansing. It systematically dismantles decades of social policy designed to uplift the majority of the nation’s population, handing our national champions over to foreign corporate raiders.
Forced into Legal Enslavement
Through Article 2.17, Malaysia is being blackmailed into adopting five international intellectual property treaties we have wisely avoided for decades, like the Brussels Convention and UPOV 1991. This forces us to rewrite our own laws to suit American corporations, which will:
- Enslave our farmers, preventing them from saving seeds.
- Bankrupt our citizens with exorbitant drug prices by strengthening big pharma patents.
- Crush local industries under the heel of overwhelming IP protection for foreign giants.
The Price of a Whore: RM29.5 Million for Our Military Sovereignty
The paltry US$7 million (RM29.5 million) in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and a token ship are not aid; they are a leash. This is the down payment on turning Malaysia into a forward operating base against China. We are no longer a partner; we are a paid proxy, a mercenary state hired to police the region for American hegemony.
This is not a trade deal. It is an act of national treason. The Madani government has not just sold us out; it has sold us off, piece by piece. They have bartered away our sovereignty, our resources, our economic rights, our cultural identity, and our religious standards for a handful of magic beans and a pat on the head from Donald Trump.
The White House has become the new seat of power for Malaysia, and the Madani government are its loyal colonial administrators. The Malaysian people must see this “Devil’s Bargain” for what it is and rise to reject it utterly. We must tear up this pact of subjugation before the chains become too heavy to break. Our independence was won by our forefathers; it is being lost by this generation of spineless leaders.
The US-Malaysia trade deal with the full appendix with details
1. Article 1.2: Sales and Services Tax (SST) Malaysia shall exclude U.S. exports of agricultural and seafood products from Malaysia’s consumption tax (currently the SST). – Interesting, so possibility of US Strawberries and canned fish from US no SST then.
2. Article 2.1: Motor Vehicle and Parts Malaysia shall─ (a) accept vehicles and vehicle parts that are manufactured and sold in the United States and comply with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and U.S. emissions standards – Are we accepting US left hand cars without further inspections now?
3. Article 2.4: Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals 1. Malaysia shall accept a prior approval or clearance that is issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as sufficient evidence that a medical device manufactured in the United States meets Malaysia’s requirements for marketing authorization, and shall not require market authorization for low-risk medical devices where marketing authorization is not required by the FDA. – as mentioned before, I think is good for Malaysian consumers as it gives faster access to US drugs and medical devices.
4. Article 2.5: Halal Certification for Industrial Goods. Malaysia shall allow the usage of a halal logo issued by any U.S. Halal certifier designated by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (“JAKIM”) – This is not very different from how JAKIM recognizes halal logos from other countries. Wondering what is the recognised halal logos from the US now?
5. Article 2.13: Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs)5 1. Recognizing the importance of establishing science- and risk-based MRLs, in cases where Malaysia has not established an MRL, Malaysia shall recognize and accept the corresponding U.S. tolerances. – I wonder what are the MRLs that Malaysia does not monitor that the US monitors?
6. Article 2.15: Definitions for Alcoholic Beverages Malaysia shall conduct an independent impact assessment with a view to expanding Malaysia’s current definitions for alcoholic beverages to include U.S. malt-based and spirit-based readyto-drink products by the end of 2028. – something for those who want to drink alcohol from the US.
7. Article 2.18: Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy Malaysia shall take steps to increase enforcement against notorious markets for counterfeiting and piracy within its territory. – not the word ‘increase enforcement’. Will there increased patrols in Jalan Petaling and the blocking of torrent downloads?
8. Article 2.19: Submarine Cable Repair Malaysia shall ensure Malaysia’s exemption to the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 [Ordinance 70/1952] is permanent, so that non-Malaysian ships are able to conduct submarine cable repairs in Malaysian waters. – this was once a heavily debate issue between MCA and DAP. Now US have stepped in to settle it.
9. Article 2.20: Broadcasting Malaysia shall remove the requirement in broadcast licensing agreements that broadcast stations devote 80 percent of terrestrial airtime to local Malaysian programming, and Malaysia shall allow broadcasting of foreign programming during prime time. – As a former TV producer, I can tell you that this is ultimately benefit Indonesian, South Korean and Chinese producers. Market has shifted away from US programming. Syndicated shows from the US are expensive and there is low returns from ADEX. Anyway, good to hear you can start a new TV station with entirely foreign content (no news content too possibly).
10. Article 2.21: Adoption and Implementation of Good Regulatory Practices conduct public consultations for proposed regulatory measures in a transparent manner; allow adequate time for interested persons, domestic and foreign, to submit comments, taking into account the complexity or possible impact of the proposed regulation; and give consideration to comments received; – I find this amusing as it’s one of the most common complaints about Malaysian regulators. Not enough consultations with all parties. Americans had to put it in an agreement.
11. Article 2.22: Labor Laws and Other Measures To protect internationally recognized labor rights, Malaysia shall─ (a) within two years of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, amend its Trade Unions Act 1959 [Act 262] to allow migrant workers to hold elected union office without prior authorization; and (b) implement regulations under the Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177], including with respect to Section 12A, that specify the manner to obtain sole bargaining rights. – this is significant, foreign workers can now joint or form their own unions without approval. Good for them as they can take part in Collective Agreement negotiations too.
12. To facilitate the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor, Malaysia shall─ (a) prohibit the charging of recruitment fees and related costs to workers in Malaysia and, where applicable, prior to their migration to Malaysia. The law may provide that such recruitment fees and related costs be paid by employers. – this has been mentioned previously before, but now that the Americans have put it in trade agreement – employers (and their agents) can’t charge a recruitment fee for their foreign workers. Often, foreign workers take up huge loans just to get a job in Malaysia.
13. expand efforts to inform migrant workers of their rights under Malaysia’s labor law, including their right to maintain access to their passports at any time, and their options for legal recourse against exploitation. – again, this is really important to prevent human rights abuses of foreign workers.
14. Article 2.25: Illegal Logging and Associated Trade strengthen prosecution of forest sector offenses under Malaysia’s laws and regulations, including by increasing the training and number of enforcement and prosecution personnel – Again, Americans are telling Malaysia that more needs to be done to protect its own forrest from illegal logging with better enforcement.
15. Article 3.1: Regulation of Social Media Platforms and Cloud Providers 1. Malaysia shall remove the requirement for U.S. social media platforms and cloud providers to contribute six percent of their revenue generated in Malaysia to a domestic fund in order to operate in Malaysia. 2. Malaysia shall administer its domestic laws and regulations for social media platforms and cloud providers in a transparent, impartial, and non-discriminatory manner, and in accordance with the principles of due process. – if the Americans are not contributing 6%, will the other companies like Tiktok be exempt too? – Also, the word ‘non-discriminatory’ is up for debate as Malaysia has different views on LGBT and what it considers fake news.
16. Article 3.2: Domain Name System (DNS) Traffic Malaysia shall repeal or permanently suspend the directive redirecting all DNS traffic to local DNS services. – Looks like no more DNS censorship by MCMC. All the complaints has made the Americans take notice. Harder to block gambling and fake news sites now (and torrents too!)
17. Article 5.3: Export Controls Malaysia, through its domestic regulatory process, shall screen and share its customs and transaction data related to U.S.-origin or U.S.-controlled items to identify transactions of concern to U.S. authorities, including BIS or its surrogate, and shall adopt and implement measures to prevent and address violations of U.S. export controls. – Malaysia now has to share its data with US customs. Americans want to know if we are trading with countries on their banned list.
18. Article 6.2: Critical Minerals 1. Malaysia shall refrain from banning critical mineral exports to the United States and shall eliminate any rare earth element export quotas to the United States. 2. Malaysia shall commit to the expedient development of its rare earth and critical minerals sector in partnership with U.S. companies to ensure secure and diversified supply chains. Malaysia shall provide greater certainty for companies involved in critical mineral extraction, including granting extended operating licenses with a focus on enhancing their technical capabilities, creating certainty for businesses to increase production capacity, and supporting operational growth. 3. Malaysia agrees to encourage a supply of rare earth magnets on terms favorable to the United States, subject to mutually agreed upon arrangements. Malaysia shall not impose restrictions on the sale of rare earth magnets to U.S. companies. – Malaysian govt already said it will not export raw rare earth and it has to be processed here in Malaysia first. Note that US now says we can’t block the export to the US, this is in case there is a sudden global shortage or in future Malaysia wants to use it entirely for ourself.
In summary, this agreement goes far beyond unfair tariffs. It is a comprehensive framework for neo-colonialism in the 21st century. It invades every facet of national life:
- Economically, it chains us as a resource colony and a consumer market.
- Politically, it makes us a vassal state in America’s foreign policy.
- Legally, it subordinates our courts to corporate tribunals.
- Socially, it dismantles decades of affirmative action and social engineering.
- Digitally, it surrenders our data and our future tech economy.
The “Madani” government hasn’t just signed a bad deal; it has signed a document that systematically dismantles the project of building a sovereign, resilient, and self-determining Malaysian nation.
Source 1 : Eric See
Source 2 : Eric See
Source 3 : Eric See
Source 4 : Eric See
Source 5 : Eric See
Source 6 : Eric See
Source 7 : Eric See
Source 8 : Eric See
Source 9 : Eric See
Source 10 : Eric See
