2 weeks ago, Wan Saiful Wan Jan. the chief executive of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) penned an opinion piece in thestar claiming that there was a prevalence of anti-TPP ideologies in Malaysia.

The Gist of his piece centered on 4 key points:

1. The Anti-TPP ideologues opposed the bill before knowing what it was, and therefore must be stupid (or bomohs)
2. Opponents of the TPP oppose trade liberalisation
3. TPP like any other free trade agreement was negotiated in secret and not exceptional
4. That the government was doing a bad job communication the TPP to the rakyat

Let’s go through them one by one:

Great animation from the EFF on the draconian nature of the Transpacific Partnership Agreement with respect to Copyright laws:

To visit the Malaysians against TPP Facebook Page, please click here

P. Ramlee was arguably the most influential Malaysian Artist to ever lived. His musical talents and acting ability set him head and shoulders apart from most of his contemporaries, or any other Malaysian Artist from whatever generation. So it was unfortunate, that he left in his prime, breathing his last breath on May 29th 1973, at the young age of 44.

His early death however, meant that the clock started ticking early for his works to become public domain. Most people don’t know this, but copyrights–unlike diamonds–aren’t forever. In Malaysia, the copyright act states that a copyright would expire 50 years after the death of the author/composer, after which the works would forever be in the public domain. This would mean all of P. Ramlees works would be made public domain in the year 2024, fifty years after his death. Works in public domain are not subjected to copyright and thus can we used in any way shape or form without any royalty being paid to the copyright owner–since the copyright no longer exist.