Malaysia wants to be excluded from piracy watch list

PUTRAJAYA, March 9 -- Malaysia wants to be excluded from the piracy watch list issued by the United States Trade Representative (USTR), said Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said Malaysia had been in the list since 2003 and must get out of it so as not to jeopardise the country's image in the eyes of the international community.

He said his ministry was making various efforts to show Malaysia's commitment to act against copyright infringement including in terms of enforcement and legislation.

"We have officially applied to be excluded (from the list). As to when (Malaysia will be excluded), it is a bit difficult to say because the USTR has its own criteria in blackisting countries (pertaining to copyright infringement).

"We have notified them of our efforts to combat the problem will have to wait for their next report," he told reporters after launching United Studios Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of KRU Berhad, he today.

Ismail Sabri said the objective would likely be met if four factors that contributed to rampant piracy in the country were overcome.

They were weaknesses in the laws, weakness in enforcement, price difference and not enough public awareness.

As for the first, he said, amendments would be tabled in Parliament in June to the Copyright Act 1987 while enforcement weaknesses would be tackled by having continuous and aggressive enforcement.

He added that last year alone, 1.3 million pirated VCDs and DVDs with a total value of RM33.53 million were seized throughout the country while 339 people were arrested for copyright offences.

The special 301 report prepared by the office of the USTR last year stated that Malaysia would continue to be in the list for 2009 as it was noted that there was a decrease in the level of attention given to copyright piracy received in Malaysia in 2008, particularly reflected in the markedly fewer enforcement actions taken by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) than had been taken in previous years.

Earlier, in his speech, Ismail Sabri said the problem of piracy had caused the size of the local entertainment industry to drop from RM300 million in 1996 to just RM80 million last year.

He said sales of musical works in the country only amounted to RM50 million last year whereas sales VCDs and DVDs of local films, which used to be in the hundreds of thousands previously, now could only reach between 10,000 and 20,000 units.

"If this trend continues, the local entertainment industry might get buried and Malaysians will be more exposed to entertainment products from foreign countries, whose culture might not be suited to ours," he added.

KRU president Norman Abdul Halim said United Studios would be offering entertainment DVDs for as low as RM9.90 per unit as part of the company's efforts to help combat the scourge of piracy.

BERNAMA