The Malaysian government is very cautious in negotiating the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, an official said Tuesday.

As the FTA talks will involve many important issues, the Malaysian government has taken a cautious attitude and will not compromise on sovereign issues, said Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ng Lip Yong.

International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said earlier in a parliament meeting that Malaysia will negotiate but it does not mean that the country is going to sign the FTA, Ng told reporters in Penang state.

"We are not going to give up our sovereignty as some of them claimed. In any negotiations, we must start somewhere and then we try to match with each other. But we are very cautious, we know that there is a lot of important issues involved," Ng was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

Before starting the FTA talks, the government had consulted views of industry players in this country, said Ng.

In addition, the government has formed 21 working groups, each led by an expert in the field concerned, in its negotiations on the Malaysia-U.S FTA talks, noted Ng.

Malaysia and the United States on Monday kicked off the first round of talks in Penang, which will last until June 16.

Also on Monday, an alliance named "Coalition on the US-Malaysia FTA" protested on the sideline of the meeting, said local media reports.

In a memorandum of understanding handed over to the Malaysian negotiation delegation, the alliance, comprising of 38 non- government organizations, asked the government to stop FTA talks with the United States.

Meanwhile, the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) welcomed the FTA talks and expected the two sides to work out a positive outcome in the next six months.