LocalFOSS

Mayalasia is a country that sits at the cross roads of South-East Asia. For centuries, the straights of Malacca have carried both goods and ideas from east to west and back again. These days the country of over 26 million people is a complex weave of ast and west, with large Indian and Chinese minorities and a mesh of malay and western institutions.

Today Malaysia is sitting at another cross-road. Recently the government has entered into negotiations regarding a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Negotiators from the US, representing some of the biggest software companies in the world have been pushing quite hard for stricter anti-piracy laws, as well as agitating against programs such as the federal governments “Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Initiative”, a program launched in 2004 aimed at both growing the local ICT industry though Free and Open Source Software and reducing government spending on ICT costs.

At a time when the local ICT industry is investing heavily in Free and Open Source technologies – one article puts over 50% of malaysian software being based on FOSS – Malaysian FOSS advocates are concerned that the United States' insistence on changes to Malaysian law to allow for software patents and more could lead to a downturn in the industry and to a heavier reliance on foreign developed software.

Statistics show currently that 98% of the personal computers of general ICT consumer are already reliant on foreign proprietary software. The licensing costs alone to the Malaysian economy for this is estimated at over USD1.5 billion dollars.

“In the last 12 months, over RM 10 million have been invested in FOSS software development companies by local investors. Industry veterans, FOSS evangelists and developers as well as non-governmental organizations have been working together to push for a coherent nation building agenda centered around open source and and open standards”, notes Ditesh Kumar a local developer involved in development of FOSS VOIP solutions.

Khairil Yusof adds, “This co-operation has helped give the small local industry FOSS industry access to experience and resources in countering intense lobbying by local representatives of mutinational proprietary software companies. So far, FOSS representatives have been able to effectively raise their concerns as part of a larger organised consertive effort when it comes to protecting local industries and communities affected by the FTA,”

He warns however that, that while the FOSS industry should continue to be involved in the FTA process, that they do not forget the lessons learnt by the software industry in Europe.

“These companies will do whatever is necessary to keep countries dependent on their software and prevent the use or development of any other alternatives. If they are not able to get software patents through the FTA, they will try to do so by sneaking in amendments to currently laws through their lobbying by their local representatives.”

Negotiations are continuing and nothing appears to be set in stone as yet, however other FOSS groups are watching what happens in Malaysia with great interest.