Pathetic

Finally, the Malaysian government has snapped. Yep, they have finally reached a point where they must do the one thing that might incite a massive riot. Allow me to take the news from the newspaper.

'No more free downloads as MCMC blocks 10 file sharing sites

PETALING JAYA: In a bid to combat piracy, the Government has declared war on filesharing websites with 10 such websites now blocked by the telecommunications industry watchdog.

The websites were among the most visited sites by Malaysians to illegally download movies.

On May 30, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had written a letter to all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ordering the block.

The letter was signed by Digital Security Services division acting seniordirector Eneng Faridah Iskandar.

The letter, which was leaked online, also stated that the websites were being blocked for breaching Section 41 of the Copyright Act 1987, which deals with pirated content.

An MCMC spokesperson confirmed the ban and said it was done on the request of the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry.

The ministry's enforcement division director-general Mohd Roslan Mahayudin confirmed that the request was made.

“It is standard procedure for the ministry to request MCMC to block sites that violate the Copyright Act 1987,” he told The Star.

Roslan said the ministry had requested that 19 websites, including the 10 listed in the letter, be blocked for violating the Act but added that it was up to MCMC to decide on which ones to block.

When asked about the fate of surfers who legally use the websites such as for storing non-pirated content, Mohd Roslan said they could always write to the ministry.

“Anyone who feels the ban is wrong can write to us and we will look into it,” he said.

Film maker Norman Abd Halim of KRU Studios said the move was long overdue.

“The unauthorised use of copyright work is destroying the industry. If everyone feels that works should be shared, then there is no value in these works,” he said.

Norman equated the move to South Korea's three-strikes law, where a person guilty of copyright infringement can have their Internet access suspended for six months.

However, irate users have vented their frustration by creating aFacebook page to protest.

By 8.30pm yesterday, there were 410 supporters who “liked” the page that was named “1M Malaysians Don't Want Block File Sharing Websites.”

FilesTube Media Search Engine, one of the sites ordered blocked, also commented on the page.

“We have posted information about this on our wall. We are with you.”

Before the page was put up, some Malaysians were already protesting via Twitter.

“You can't create a walled-up Internet garden,” read one tweet.

Some also made reference to the MSC Malaysia Bill of Guarantees which states that the Government will not censor the Internet.

MSC Malaysia is a national initiative that kicked off in 1996 and is aimed at transforming the nation into a knowledge-based economy.'

There you have it. Some people would be fuming at this. Some people would not. But, I can tell you this..I would expect 75% of the Malaysian citizens who are avid downloaders [we shall generalize downloaders here] to be very angry.

Why do I say that?

Look at the sites they have banned.

Look at number 2, 9 and 10. When I took up the paper today, the dreaded feeling was there. I have expected them to block ThePirateBay [aptly named, which proves that the Malaysian government only looks at the name and not check its contents] but I certainly did not expect them to block Filestube and Megaupload. For me, I would say that Filestube and Megaupload are two of the largest file-storing sites in the world. And the government is happily..let me repeat that, HAPPILY banning those sites.

Seriously, if the move was implemented to curb piracy, then this shows that the government has effectively ran out of all other options [brain disruption?] to curb piracy. This double-edged move, in fact, so double-edged its so dangerous I won't be surprised if the Parliament gets rioted, is such a completely pathetic move. Its like moving your king to center of the board during the mid-game of chess and hoping your opponent falls into your trap.. a trap that clearly says "This is a trap!".

Maybe I'm the only one feeling this way. Maybe I'm the only one uses Megaupload and ThePirateBay. Maybe I've no other options in downloading. But. But. This does not change the fact that this move is double-edged. If you read the article,

"When asked about the fate of surfers who legally use the websites such as for storing non-pirated content, Mohd Roslan said they could always write to the ministry.

“Anyone who feels the ban is wrong can write to us and we will look into it,” he said."

I don't know. Has anyone ever written to the Ministry and received anything else other than a letter saying 'We'll consider it and will look into it as soon as possible'? I'm not saying this is all that's happening. I'm saying this is the typical scenario. Do you know how much of a bother this puts into those who are "legally using the websites such as for storing non-pirated content"? Imagine the discomfort experienced by those who decide to check their file stores and realize that everything has been banned.

I'll leave the thought process to you guys to think about this ill-based move. With the government making bad moves every now and then, its no wonder piracy is never solved [I dunno. Inspira seems to be piracy at its best..and Spiderman managed to earn its reputation in Malaysia as a lizard].

What i would like to comment is this.

"Film maker Norman Abd Halim of KRU Studios said the move was long overdue.

“The unauthorised use of copyright work is destroying the industry. If everyone feels that works should be shared, then there is no value in these works,” he said.

Norman equated the move to South Korea's three-strikes law, where a person guilty of copyright infringement can have their Internet access suspended for six months."

I do not see any other country banning ThePirateBay because of the worry of copyright infringement. And, i would like to point out that if what you say is like that, then Proton Inspira has no value at all and Malaysia would do well in making works that are ACTUALLY original.

I've said my piece. Now, hopefully, something good in this might come out.

CCW