US WANTS TO HOLD BACK FTA TALKS WITH MALAYSIA FOR A WHILE

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- The United States wants to hold back the US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks until its new government is in place by January next year, International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin Wednesday.

"I have been informed by the new administration that they want to hold back
until the new government of (US President-elect) Barrack Obama comes in and then
they will begin the negotiations," he told reporters after officiating the
National Manufacturing Conference here.

According to Muhyiddin, the negotiations will not be going back to
square one.

"Whatever progress has been made in the previous negotiations, we will
continue. We want to move forward," he said.

"We have been given a new mandate by the Cabinet to see how things can be
addressed. Some of contentious issues, we will see what will happen," he
said.

The FTA talks, which started in June 2006, have been delayed due to some
unresolved issues between the two countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak had earlier this month said the progress
of the Malaysia-US FTA negotiations would depend on the policies
implemented by the Obama administration.

He said Malaysia was keen to see the policies of Obama, the first
African-American president to enter the White House.

"We want to see the policies of the new president. It looks like we cannot
conclude the FTA talks under the administration of current President George W.
Bush," said Najib, who is also the Finance Minister.

"I hope they (the US) will see that what the world actually needs is not
more assistance but a free trade regime that is fair and just," he said.