Storm over school software plans
A senior Malaysian government official has set off a storm of controversy after reportedly saying schools and other public institutions in his country could be allowed to use pirated computer software.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was quoted by the Sunday Star newspaper as saying that in some cases intellectual property theft could be acceptable.
'We are concerned over the rampant sale and use of pirated software in the country and will continue to conduct raids to curb it. But for educational purposes and to encourage computer usage, we may consider allowing schools and social organisations to use pirated software,' he was quoted as saying.
Mr Muhyiddin reportedly told the paper that the piracy rate in Malaysia was improving and was small in comparison to Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan or the United States.
Ironically, the comments were made as Mr Muhyiddin announced plans to get tough with corporations that use illegal software.
The news that schools and other groups could be exempted came as a surprise to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the tough-talking Malaysian government's key ally in its anti-piracy campaign. The BSA, which represents software developers such as Microsoft and Adobe and has been involved with several recent joint enforcement raids with officials from Mr Muhyiddin's department, was left scrambling to respond to the report yesterday.
Roland Chan, BSA's regional marketing manager, Asia-Pacific, said allowing schools to use pirated software would send the wrong message to young people by telling them it was acceptable to steal.
'BSA members are already aware and are supportive of the need to promote the use of software in schools. As such, most BSA members already offer special pricing of their software for educational use,' he said.
'There is computer-aided learning software on the market developed and sold by Malaysian software developers . . . To allow the use of pirated software in schools will destroy their business.'
Mr Chan said the right to alter the terms and conditions of software use was the prerogative of the copyright owner, not a government. 'Otherwise there will not be any incentive to write and sell software in this country,' he said.
A source close to the situation said Mr Muhyiddin was already backing away from his comments, claiming he had been misunderstood.
The report also appears to contradict tough talk from Mr Muhyiddin's own enforcement officials, who last month threatened anyone using illegal software with jail time and fines.
In a statement on the BSA Web site, Roslan Mahayudin, deputy director-general of the enforcement division of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, said: 'Senior managers and company directors should know by now that it is a criminal offence to use pirated software to run their business.
'However, if they (the management) insist on continuing with this unethical practice, they run the risk of being raided by the enforcement officers.'
Corporate software piracy is relatively common in Malaysia, despite strict copyright laws that provide for offenders to be jailed for up to five years and fined US$2,632 per piece of infringing software.
According to the BSA, Malaysia is one of the few countries in Asia that showed a significant increase in software piracy in 2001, increasing from 66 per cent to 70 per cent.
Meanwhile, it is the second time in recent weeks that a political leader in Asia has issued a statement at odds with the BSA.
In June, Thailand's Deputy Commerce Minister Newin Chidchob said the high cost of software was a major cause of piracy in the region, and that major producers had an obligation to provide affordable products.
Mr Newin warned that if manufacturers ignored the request, the commerce ministry could put software on its price-control list of 71 essential daily goods.
Graphic: pir30gwz
