KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Malaysia on Thursday destroyed 14 seized disc-manufacturing machines worth 42 million ringgit (13 million dollars) in a campaign to battle piracy and protect intellectual property.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shafie Apdal used a metal crusher attached to a crane to smash the machines in a gesture against the syndicates that produce pirated DVDs and CDs.
"The destruction of the seized production lines is undertaken to protect the interest of copyright owners and at the same time ensures that these resources do not fall into the wrong hands," he told reporters in southern Negeri Sembilan state.
Malaysia, like many Asian countries, is awash with pirated DVDs, with the latest releases sold in shopping malls and market stalls for just a few dollars.
Nor Hayati Yahaya, country manager for the Motion Picture Association, told AFP that the destruction of the machines would not only send a strong anti-piracy message but also remove the machines from the production cycle.
"In one blow, the Malaysian government has significantly raised the cost of doing business by the pirates," she said.
But Nor Hayati admitted that the battle was far from over.
"We do not know how many illegal disc-producing machines are out there. We will double our efforts to destroy them," she said.
Nor Hayati said the association was concerned that the trade in illicit discs was still rampant in Malaysia, with some of the goods reaching as far away as the United States.
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