KUALA LUMPUR: Top filmmaker Datuk Yusof Haslam has lamented that the longtime menace of creative content piracy was getting out of control.
He said that it was a "cancer" to the creative industry, and tougher laws were needed to deal with the increasingly bold pirates.
In a news report today, Yusof said that the industry lost more than RM3 billion a year to pirates, and this meant a loss of RM500 million in income tax, and the loss of jobs for thousands involved in filmmaking.
"We must show criminals that we mean business. We can't go on condemning them for stealing creative content. Stricter laws and punishments are needed now," said Yusof.
Astro regulatory director Laila Saat said film and software piracy was a serious threat to everyone involved in film and television, from producers and directors down to cameramen and set designers.
"Without stiffer punishment, the problem will never end, and all of us in the creative ecosystem will continue to suffer," she said.
Malaysian Film Producers' Association (PFM) honorary secretary Zahrin Aris and Persatuan Seniman Malaysia (Seniman) president Zed Zaidi suggested that tougher punishments be imposed on individuals who used the content of media boxes without permission from their creators.
Zahrin said: "At the moment, they get fined RM30,000. This amount should be increased, to deter them effectively."
Zed said: "Two recent cases have given us hope. The government must crack down hard on all pirates, for the survival of our industry."
On Feb 16, a 46-year-old woman pleaded guilty to owning six media boxes with Astro content illegally.
She was fined RM30,000 under Section 232(2) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
On Feb 8, an IT company in Shah Alam became the first company to be charged in court for violating Section 41(1) of the Copyright Act 1987, by promoting hardware and software that bypassed technological protection measures against copyrighted broadcast work.