UPOV 1991 AND THE CPTPP: DO NOT SACRIFICE LOCAL SEED SOVEREIGNTY FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS Local Seeds • Farmers’ Rights • Natural Wealth • People’s Wealth

MALAYSIAN PEOPLE’S PARTY (PRM)

OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL MEDIA STATEMENT

UPOV 1991 AND THE CPTPP: DO NOT SACRIFICE LOCAL SEED SOVEREIGNTY FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Local Seeds • Farmers’ Rights • Natural Wealth • People’s Wealth

By: Ahmad Jufliz bin Faiza
President, Malaysian People’s Party (PRM)

The Malaysian People’s Party (PRM) asserts that food sovereignty begins with seed sovereignty. Seeds are not merely agricultural inputs. They are part of our natural wealth, the product of generations of farmers’ knowledge, and the foundation of our national capacity to produce our own food.

Therefore, any amendments to the Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 (Act 634) and any steps taken by Malaysia concerning the 1991 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991) must be carefully assessed in the national interest, with due regard to farmers’ rights, food security and the fair distribution of wealth.

1. THE CPTPP AND UPOV 1991: THE GOVERNMENT MUST CLARIFY MALAYSIA’S STATUS

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) entered into force for Malaysia on 29 November 2022. Malaysia’s intellectual property commitments relating to plant varieties include a four-year transition period concerning UPOV 1991.

The date of 29 November 2026 is therefore important in assessing the implementation of these commitments. However, the expiry of the transition period does not, by itself, establish that Malaysia has become a member of UPOV 1991 or completed all necessary domestic legislative processes.

UPOV documents issued in 2025 record that Malaysia submitted draft amendments to Act 634 for examination against the requirements of UPOV 1991. A positive decision on the conformity of the draft does not automatically make Malaysia a UPOV member. The relevant UPOV documentation states that Malaysia may deposit its instrument of accession once the draft amendments have been adopted without changes and the law has entered into force.

PRM calls on the Government to publicly clarify the current status of the amendments to Act 634, Malaysia’s accession process to UPOV 1991, and the measures being taken to protect the interests of local farmers.

2. BREEDERS’ RIGHTS MUST BE BALANCED WITH FARMERS’ RIGHTS

PRM recognises the importance of research, innovation and appropriate protection for breeders who develop new plant varieties. However, intellectual property protection must not undermine smallholders’ ability to cultivate their land and produce food at reasonable cost.

UPOV 1991 grants specific rights to breeders in respect of plant varieties that satisfy the applicable legal criteria. The Convention does not impose an absolute prohibition on every practice of saving and replanting seeds. Nevertheless, exceptions for farm-saved seed are subject to the conditions and limitations of the applicable law. They do not create an unlimited right to save, exchange or sell every protected seed variety.

On 4 March 2026, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Datuk Chan Foong Hin stated in the Dewan Negara that the Government was adopting a cautious and balanced approach. He also affirmed the Government’s commitment to preserving smallholders’ practices of saving and reusing seeds for their own use through exceptions under Act 634.

PRM takes note of these assurances. However, policy assurances must be translated into clear, understandable and enforceable legal provisions.

The Government must clarify the following:

- What are farmers’ actual rights to save and replant seeds for their own use?
- What limits apply to seed exchanges among farmers and traditional community practices?
- How can smallholders determine whether a variety is protected and what restrictions apply?
- What complaint mechanisms and remedies are available if farmers’ rights are affected?

3. LOCAL SEEDS ARE PART OF OUR NATURAL WEALTH AND PEOPLE’S KNOWLEDGE

Under PRM’s National Wealth Architecture of Malaysia framework, national wealth should not be measured solely through exports, market values or economic growth figures. We must also assess how natural resources, human knowledge and productive activity create ownership and improve people’s well-being.

Local seeds embody genetic diversity, agricultural knowledge and generations of farmers’ experience. If these resources and knowledge are not adequately protected, Malaysia risks weakening an important foundation of its agricultural capacity and food security.

PRM views this economic relationship as a mutually reinforcing cycle:

Natural Wealth + Human Wealth → Seeds and Production → Economic Value → People’s Income and Ownership → Reinvestment in People and Nature.

Quality seeds enable farmers to produce food. Production generates economic value. That value should contribute to farmers’ income, a stable food supply and wealth that can be passed on to future generations.

This cycle must be protected so that natural wealth does not merely become a source of profit for selected parties, but also builds the wealth of the people.

4. SEED COMPETITION, PRICES AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

The Government has stated that there are 15 authorised paddy seed producers under the Paddy Seed Certification Scheme (Skim Pengesahan Benih Padi, SPBP). PRM takes note of this figure, but the number of producers alone is insufficient to establish whether the market is genuinely competitive.

A comprehensive assessment must examine seed prices, varietal choices, farmers’ access to seeds, production costs, purchasing and selling conditions, and the ability of new suppliers to enter the market.

Farmers should not face restrictions that leave them with insufficient choices or undermine the viability of their agricultural enterprises. At the same time, allegations of monopoly or market restrictions must be investigated on the basis of verifiable evidence and data.

PRM demands transparency in assessing the impact of amendments to Act 634 on market competition, agricultural costs, farmers’ incomes and national food supplies.

5. THE PEOPLE’S VOICES MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

On 9 July 2026, Astro AWANI reported that the Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum (Forum Kedaulatan Makanan Malaysia, FKMM) had submitted a petition containing 20,800 signatures opposing amendments to Act 634 associated with Malaysia’s proposed accession to UPOV 1991.

Among the concerns raised were the risks of biopiracy, the protection of traditional farmers’ rights, and possible legal gaps or overlaps involving access to biological resources and benefit-sharing under the Access to Biological Resources and Benefit Sharing Act 2017 (Act 795).

These concerns warrant legal scrutiny, meaningful consultation and evidence-based assessment. They should not be treated as proven consequences, but neither should they be dismissed without proper examination.

PRM emphasises that public consultation must not be a mere formality. Farmers, paddy growers, researchers, local communities, consumers and civil society organisations must have a meaningful opportunity to understand and comment on changes that could affect the future of Malaysia’s food system.

6. PRM’S SEVEN DEMANDS

To safeguard seed sovereignty and the interests of the people, PRM calls on the Government to:

1. Clarify Malaysia’s current status regarding the implementation of CPTPP commitments relating to UPOV 1991 and the amendments to Act 634.
2. Publish the draft amendments and a clause-by-clause explanation so that the public can understand the proposed rights and obligations.
3. Provide clear legal protection for smallholder farmers, including the actual scope of seed saving and reuse, together with the applicable legal limitations.
4. Conduct meaningful public consultations with paddy growers, farmers, researchers, local communities, consumers and civil society.
5. Protect genetic diversity and traditional knowledge, while ensuring coherence between relevant laws governing biological resources and benefit-sharing.
6. Strengthen Malaysia’s domestic seed capabilities through public research, local plant breeding, universities, MARDI and support for farmer-led innovation.
7. Publish a National Seed Sovereignty Impact Assessment examining the effects on seed prices, production costs, market competition, farmers’ incomes, varietal diversity and food security.

This assessment must inform the Government’s decisions, rather than becoming a document prepared only after the policy has been implemented.

CONCLUSION: PEOPLE’S LAND, PEOPLE’S SEEDS, PEOPLE’S RICE

PRM does not reject innovation or appropriate protection for plant breeders. What we demand is a fair balance between innovation, the public interest and farmers’ ability to remain the producers of the nation’s food.

Food sovereignty cannot be separated from Malaysia’s capacity to manage genetic resources, develop local seeds and ensure that farmers receive a fair share of the value generated by their work.

PRM’s principle is clear: natural wealth must build people’s wealth, not make the people increasingly dependent on resources that they can no longer reasonably access or cultivate.

Food sovereignty begins with seed sovereignty.

People’s Land • People’s Seeds • People’s Rice • People’s Nation

Ahmad Jufliz bin Faiza
President
Malaysian People’s Party (PRM)

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REFERENCES

1. Ministry of Finance Malaysia (MOF)
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — information on the signing and entry-into-force dates of the CPTPP for Malaysia, including 29 November 2022.
https://www.mof.gov.my/portal/en/procurement/cptpp

2. Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI)
CPTPP Cost-Benefit Analysis Final Report — discussion of UPOV 1991-related commitments, the transition period and implications for plant variety protection.
https://fta.miti.gov.my/miti-fta/resources/CPTPPA/25072022_CPTPP_Cost_Benefit_Analysis_Final_Report_-_for_publication.pdf

3. International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)
Examination of the Conformity of the Draft Amendments to the Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 [Act 634] of Malaysia with the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention, document C/59/17, 2 October 2025.
https://www.upov.int/edocs/mdocs/upov/en/c_59/c_59_17.pdf

4. International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)
Report on the Decisions Taken by the Council at its Fifty-Ninth Ordinary Session, document C/59/19, October 2025 — decision on the conformity of the draft amendments to Act 634 and the conditions that must be met before an instrument of accession may be deposited.
https://www.upov.int/edocs/mdocs/upov/en/c_59/c_59_19.pdf

5. Parliament of Malaysia — Dewan Negara Hansard
Official record of the Dewan Negara sitting on 4 March 2026 — questions concerning UPOV 1991, farmers’ rights, paddy seeds and the position of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
https://hansard.parlimen.gov.my/hansard/dewan-negara/2026-03-04?search=undefined

6. Astro AWANI
“FKMM serah petisyen 20,800 tandatangan bantah pindaan Akta 634 sertai UPOV 1991” [FKMM submits petition with 20,800 signatures opposing amendments to Act 634 and accession to UPOV 1991], 9 July 2026.
https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/fkmm-serah-petisyen-20800-tandatangan-bantah-pindaan-akta-634-sertai-upov-1991

Publication note: The latest status of the amendments to Act 634, the commencement of the relevant legislation and Malaysia’s accession process to UPOV 1991 should be verified again before publication. The expiry of the CPTPP transition period on 29 November 2026 must not be treated as proof that Malaysia has joined UPOV 1991 or completed all domestic processes.