Forthnights

Pirates Paradise....

I’m ashamed to say it, but Malaysia is probably the world capital of piracy… Not the swash buckling pirates of the sea; but intellectual property piracy. In Malay, we call it ‘cetak rompak’… literally translated as ‘copy robbery’

In fact, it is so much a part of Malaysian society, we take it for granted. Buying pirated movies, mp3’s and computer software is so commonplace it doesn’t even raise an eyebrow; In shopping centres, in stores, and in the night markets. No night market would be complete without the pirated VCD/DVD/MP3 seller, blasting away some techno version of “Sweet Child of Mine” at their stalls.

Despite the government crackdown, there is no stopping these people. Our local enforcement just don’t have what it takes, but more on that later.

Pirated CD’s are such a common thing that to many of us Malaysians, songs come by cheap, movies are plenty, and software is easy to get. The latest games, amounting to a couple of hundred ringgit can be bought at RM5 (USD$1 = RM3.60). Software, any software, from CAD Engineering Software, programming in C++, Photoshop CS2, which in real actually cost thousands, ANYTHING, can be bought at RM5 from your local friendly Pirates Store. Pornography is more ‘expensive’ at RM15. Wherever there is a high density of people, you’ll see some sort of CD seller selling out in the open, music blasting from their speakers.

Look at the PC of any average savvy young Malaysian, and you’ll find gigabytes upon gigabytes of songs, movies, and software, all of it, a pirate copy, including the Windows OS. We have become so immune to it that buying a pirated CD hardly feels like a crime at all. In a way, all of us here are criminals. But ask around and you find that none of us consider ourselves a criminal at all. It’s a matter of perception and culture. Most of us would not go shop lifting or stealing. But it’s hard for the average Malaysian to equal buying software for RM5 as stealing. To them, they want the software, but they aren’t going to pay a couple of hundred dollars to get it, and since it doesn’t hurt anybody, why not buy a pirated copy at RM5? I have Catia installed on my computer for my assignments in class. Catia is an industry standard engineering software, the license of each unit amounts to thousands. How much do you think I got it for? Even the lecturers assume we would have the software needed for the assignment. Never once were we asked to use the computers in the college since there were hardly enough anyway; 200 students to 12 computers? Come on, get real.

Go to Petaling Street in KL, and you see just how dominant these syndicates are. Even the police and local municipal dare not do a seizure without a full squad of properly armed enforcers. When you walk by, you get hounded by sellers pushing the latest films to you, some just out, others not shown in Malaysia. When that doesn’t work, they quietly ask you “Do you want porn? Any type, any kind; local, Japanese, Hong Kong, Caucasian, Gay, Lesbian, S&M, soft-porn, hardcore.. you name it, we got it.” All of us who have been there will surely be asked at least once. There’s not just one stall, there’s a dozen of them. So when you say no to one, you have to repeat yourself to 11 more. The place is notorious for it. So don’t be surprised if you see some man, quickly making his way out of the street, black plastic in hand, eyes darting left and right with a hint of embarrassment.

The poor government has tried to stop it by cracking down on these syndicates. Most of us know that there are people paid up within the enforcers. These pirates operate quickly and efficiently and they often have the backing of someone bigger. Let me give you a first hand account of one such crackdown.

Near my place, there used to be an entire street full of these sellers. They sold openly and without fear; movies one section, music one section, porn one section (that doesn’t happen anymore). The entire street was lit bright, music blasting, making the atmosphere really exciting. For a long time, browsing for CD’s after dinner was a common activity. All these stalls each had one car behind them. One fine day, just after I bought the latest movie, the walkie talkie of the sellers crackled “Pack up, go ASAP.” There were always watch dogs elsewhere. Just like that, the entire row of stalls started to dismantle, CD’s were loaded into the boots of the cars, lights were taken down. They all moved in such a highly organised manner, you’d think they had a drill before. Within 5 minutes, the cars started to leave, and just like that, the streets were half empty; 5 minutes and not a trace behind. For the thrill of it, I stayed behind. 15minutes later, the enforcers arrived. As if expecting it to be empty, the officers just hanged around for another 15 minutes and left empty handed. 30minutes after they left, these guys were back again setting up stall, business as usual.

How can you beat that? Enforcers have to plan weeks ahead before a raid. Officers have to be selected, reports have to be filed, thorough briefings have to be made and permission has to be granted before anything can be done. On the other camp, these syndicates are flexible, creative and fearless. Stalls can be set up and dismantle in 5 minutes, at a location of their choosing, all just with a quick word from their boss. When there is warning, run like hell. If you get caught, don’t worry, someone will bail you out.

But the true problem is only half with the seller. Business is so good; crime is paying so handsomely because there is demand for what they offer. There lies the greatest challenge for the government; the changing of our society and its mindset. Just like animal poaching, as long as there is a demand, there will always be supply. We want movies not censored by the local authorities, we want movies banned in Malaysia (it’s a long list). We want everything the government doesn’t want us to see. Our society almost demands that we be offered all sorts of software, movies and songs under the sun for ridiculously low prices. Americans buy a song for 99cents from iTunes, Malaysians buy about 100 MP3’s for RM5. You do the math. We want them good, cheap and fast. Like I said, Malaysians are a pampered lot. We live in a food haven, have no natural disasters, and we get to buy software at dirt cheap prices. There are laws against buying this stuff, but our jails aren’t big enough to keep 20million people, and even if it did, there would be no one left on the outside.. So how do you solve such a problem? Its easy to teach a child not to steal, but its different when you try to make them understand what it means to plagiarise, and why its wrong.

You can try the cane. It might deter them with it, but you can’t change their minds with it. The minute you turn you back, they are at it again.

There is no solution; at least not one in the near future; because we are just so darn happy about it. We nod in agreement when we criticise piracy, we advocate it to the public, we write blogs about it :-p , but we still remain ‘iPirates’ number one fan. There is no will to change, because we are so used to reaping the benefits of these activities. In this instance, crime does pay. Well, at least for now.

posted by Compulsive Blogger @ 1:36 am Comments: 0