According to financial and economic expert Hoo Ke Ping, the TPPA would have a mixed effect on monopolies and oligopolies in the country and this would have both positive and negative impacts on the public.

The removal of protection mechanisms for local industries such as animal farming would wipe out the oligopolies in the industry, which were held mainly by middlemen, he added.

“It is the middlemen who distort the prices, leading to more expensive local meats, and the TPPA will do away with this.”

However, he said, this could lead to an over dependence on imported meat, which in turn could cause supply issues in the event of problems in origin countries such as natural disasters or animal diseases.

Hoo also said that the entrance of major corporations into Malaysia would result in local companies losing out as they would not be able to compete.

“In this respect, when the local companies cannot compete and close shop, we will see the creation of monopolies not through regulation, but due to a lack of competition,” he said.

“You cannot label this as a monopoly or oligopoly but this is what will happen as the American corporations are so huge.”

Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) chief Nadzim Johan said consumers had voiced their concerns to his association about the possibility of the TPPA resulting in the creation of monopolies due to exclusivity clauses and increased prices.

He said there were already monopolies in Malaysia and pointed to a satellite television service as an example.

Current laws were insufficient to protect consumers from monopolies, he added.

“Corporations prefer monopolies or oligopolies,” he said. “You can’t expect them to look after the interests of the people. That would be like asking a wolf to protect sheep.”

However, according to Nadzim, consumer power could defeat monopolies.

“Corporations are powerless as long as the people unite under the consumer umbrella,” he said. “They cannot force people to buy their services or products.”