The cause of piracy in Malaysia.

There are pirates in Malaysia...lots of them. However, these pirates are not seafaring lads, with unaccountable eye patches - they are backroom boys with computer and video equipment turning out copies of software of all kinds, be it films, or computer games.

Before I went to Malaysia, I had puzzled at its reputation for pirated goods. Now, however, that I have lived in Malaysia for a while, it has become obvious to me why there is such a high rate of copyright infringement.

Last week, I went into a video store in KL and took a look at their DVDs. I was rather stunned at what I saw. The DVDs were typically priced at 149.99 RM each. To put this into perspective, the Sony DVD player that we had just bought, cost just 179 RM. So, a DVD in Malaysia is almost the price a good, branded DVD player. That struck me as appalling. I quietly left the DVD store without making any purchases.

Yesterday, I was in a computer store. I took a look for a game I had been contemplating for a while: Fallout 3. Again, I was struck by a sense of shock at the price: 189.99 RM. Again, this is much more expensive than expected and, indeed, is much more expensive than the game was, when it first came out in Singapore (where it has since become cheaper).

It is quite clear that the strongest motivation for people to buy pirated goods in Malaysia is that the genuine article is, typically, vastly overpriced. A pirated DVD costs around 8 RM (compared to 150 RM!!!). I hear that a pirated game costs about 15 RM, compared to close to 200 RM for the real thing.

Thus, it is clear that the reason piracy is common in Malaysia is that the manufacturers and distributors of software - film/games - are being too greedy. They are overpricing their goods compared to local standards, and, therefore, have made themselves entirely unaffordable to the common man. The common man therefore, seeks cheaper alternatives and, given a choice between not being able to buy something AT ALL (the original costs far too much), and buying a lower quality copy...they will ALWAYS go for the copy.

The answer to copyright infringement in Malaysia is strikingly obvious: the costs of original goods must be brought into line with the economic situation in Malaysia and must reflect what people are actually able to afford. That, to my mind, means dividing the price of DVDs and games by at least a factor of 3. Were manufacturers to do this, they wouldn't lose money, they would gain market share, as the common man started to buy original goods and prefer doing so, based on their quality (now that he could afford them).

Right now, however, original goods will sit unsold, and copies will sell quickly...because simple economics says that people in Malaysia have no other choice, realistically speaking. Almost no-one in Malaysia can afford these goods at the manufacturer's asking price.

So, if film-makers and computer games designers really want to make money in Malaysia (and other South-East Asian countries), they MUST cut the price of goods. Otherwise, they can just forget about making significant sales here.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

The uncooperative banks of Singapore.

Singaporeans may not be aware of it, but a foreigner can see something about their banking system that is just not right. There is a lack of cooperation between banks in Singapore which leads to a general lowering of customer service.

In other countries that I have visited (about 20), it is usual for banks to cooperate with each other to the extent that any ATM card will work in any ATM. This is because the banks have agreed to share networks and give each other access to their networks. The result of this sharing of resources is greatly increased convenience for the customer: simply pop your ATM card into any bank's ATM and you can access your own account: wonderful.

In Singapore, however, things are different. Banks in Singapore freeze each other out. They treat each other as enemies rather than cooperative entities all working together to give the best to their customers. The result is that ATM cards in Singapore only work in a small selection of the ATM machines. You see, the banks have refused to cooperate with each other - in general - and so an ATM card often only works in the machines of the bank by which it was issued. This leads to a poor customer service for all - and, oddly, GREATER EXPENSE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL BANK. For each bank to operate its own network of machines is very expensive - so to offer sufficient service, more machines, per bank are necessary, than if the banks were sharing. So, not only are Singaporean banks uncooperative, they are stupid. The smart move would be to cooperate because then the best service could be offered at the lowest price to each bank. It is a win-win situation - the customer wins and the bank wins.

Everywhere else in the world, whose banking system I am aware of, has realized the advantages of ATM system cooperation - but Singapore hasn't. Here banks fight each other at the expense of the customer.

It is interesting to note who, too, is not cooperating. Today I put an ATM card from a local bank into a POSB atm. It didn't want to do business with my card...because it was the wrong bank. The same card was accepted by the ATM machines of the issuing bank, however. So, there was nothing wrong with the card. It is instructive that POSB is a Singapore government bank - so it is the Singaporean government that is not cooperating with other banks. However, it is not alone, all the local banks that I have observed personally, feud in this way, by refusing each other's cards. It is immature behaviour and is at the expense of the customer.

Competition has its place in business. However, that I think in a mature business environment there will be mutually beneficial cooperation, too. The absence of such cooperation in the ATM networks in Singapore is a sign of two things: immaturity in the management of these banks (read, "Stupidity") and a failure to put the customer first. In Singapore, it often seems, that the customer comes last.

The answer, in Singapore, is either to have more than one account, so that you can increase the number of ATMs to which you have access...or spend a lot longer looking for a cooperative machine.

Happy banking.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)