Microsoft: "Malaysia has to do more to fight piracy"

Large-scale manufacturing of pirated
software discs was rampant and illegal operators still held the biggest
share of the local market despite a recent government crackdown, said Butt
Wai Choon, the managing director of Microsoft Malaysia. "Malaysia
continues to be a high-pirated market in all aspects, from home to small
and medium industries," Butt told Reuters in an interview.

Malaysia seized more than three million illegal entertainment and
business software discs in the first half of last year, and is due to
impose price controls on music and video discs effective April 1 as part
of an anti-piracy drive. Yet pirated software remains on sale on streets
and in shopping malls, with discs in Johor Bahru city, bordering
Singapore, selling for six ringgit ($ 1.58) apiece.

"What the government attempts to do is by enforcement, but the number
one thing is education," Butt said.

Microsoft, the world's largest software
firm, posted record turnover of $ 10.2 billion in the October-December
quarter, of which about 10 percent came from Asia-Pacific.

Market research firm Gartner said in a recent report PC shipments to
Malaysia grew 6.3 percent in 2003, lower than the average growth rate for
Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, of 9.5
percent.