Stop Buying Pirated Things
Nowadays, people in Indonesia are trying to keep up with brand new songs, movies and gadgets. They can get new songs and movies in the nearest store. They can buy CDs, DVDs and other types of discs. They should spend more money to get the original discs, but people prefer to get songs and movies with the cheap price than buy discs with the expensive price. People just spend 5.000 Rupiah for each pirated DVD or CD but the original costs 100.000 Rupiah. People also can download everything from internet freely through many websites that share everything world widely. That is called copyright violation; you do not have to pay as the original products to the producers or artists. In Indonesia, people also pirate many things such as software, clothes’ brands and many things. Our people do not violate cultures and heritages of other nations unfortunately almost people cannot afford to pay original products that are expensive. However if people always buy the pirated things, people will make the producers, artists and corporations lose more money, make Indonesia’s Government get less tax to build than make all people be wealthy and get hardness in trading, make many original products hard to find and create some moral problem such as forgery which ends with crime.
Pirated DVDs and CDs are still favorite things in Indonesia. People in Indonesia not only love to buy things which are in good quality but also love to pay cheap for the good quality things. The fact is that pirated DVDs and CDs are cheap. We cannot blame people who sell pirated DVDs or CDs are the cause of people’s attitude like above. The difference between a pirated DVD’s price and an original DVD’s price is about 95000 rupiah. So it means that people can buy twenty pirated DVDs with the same quality with the original, which is one of many causes. They also know that pirated software is so cheap compared to the original. The pirated software cost 100.000 rupiah for CD format and 40.000 rupiah for DVD format. The original software costs 100 US Dollar or even more.
Pirated DVDs or CDs are not hard to find. When you are in a big intersection, you can find people who sell pirated DVDs and CDs. They sell the DVDS and CDs in front of store or even inside traditional market. Pirated DVDs and CDs are easy to find in public places. People can buy it inside the mall or outside but near the mall. So it is not really hard to find pirated DVDs and CDs, people just go to the nearest public place and they will find it. Pirated software is also easy to find. It is usually sold near the campuses and schools. The sellers even will give bonus software if the buyers have bought ten CDs or DVDs of software. People get the easiness to find and buy the pirated things, but there are many things that can occur along the pirated things consumption. Our country and also the people can get many disadvantages in economy, nation’s development, trading and moral problem.
People always buy the pirated DVDs, CDs and software but they do not think about the producers, artists or the corporation who create those things. People should stop make disadvantages on the producers, artists or the corporations. The creator of a thing will lose more money for each pirated thing is bought. The creators have done many ways to make people easier buy their products. The creators from outside Indonesia sell their products through internet with cheaper price than the price which people buy in store. The artists and producers especially in Indonesia lose money a lot,
since a lot of pirated version of their CDs and DVDs are sold out there. The artists cannot do anything else except keep creating other products. People should stop pirating the creator’s products because the creator did not get a cent from our purchase. People in Indonesia are mostly lazy to buy the original DVDs or CDs, because the price is more expensive than the pirated and the stores are too far.
Pirated things can be the problem that could break the spirit of new comer musicians. If the new comer musician make good music but people do not intend to buy their original CDs, the musician will think that they do not get the people’s attention in music so they quit because they earn no money. Those things will make our country’s economical condition go down because the people do not respect copyright of the artists’ product by buying the pirated products or download freely through internet. That condition will also make other producers and corporations lose a lot of money, so they cannot create another creation that can give something useful for our country and nation anymore. Piracy really makes economic problem in Indonesia especially kill the artists’, producers’ and corporations’ creativity and spirit in creating, which is caused of no earning.
Another problem that is got from buying pirated things is lack of tax for our country, Indonesia. Tax is really important to develop our country. Indonesia’s government is predicted to lose about 1,189 trillion rupiah in 2004 from music industry. The value is so fantastic to be used for development. The money loss of software industry is about 3,8 trillion rupiah. That is not few for education in Indonesia. A lot of pirated CDs and DVDs cause Indonesia’s government lose money from tax income, government lose Value – added tax (Pajak Pertambahan Nilai) it is about 10% and Income tax it is about 15% from the DVDs, VCDs and CDs selling, and it is also predicted that government lose 16 trillion rupiah every year. That loss will make people by their selves lose many things, such as potency of jobs field. Potency of jobs field is really important especially for develop country like Indonesia. Jobs can make people get a better life for their selves and families and at the last will make strong Indonesia’s economy condition for every sectors.
Buying piracy things will also lose affect the development of industry and technology. People also know that technology and science progress are affected from the fund and the fund source is from the government. So it means that tax give contribution also to the research for sciences and technologies. But, the fact is the government gets less tax because people prefer to buy pirated things than the original so the progress is slowing down. Piracy could obstruct the progress of technologies and sciences development for better Indonesia. Industry could be obstructed by piracy problem that is caused by less tax to develop it. Many industries also need help from government to do their operations inside. So the progress of industries and technologies in Indonesia cannot be continued regularly without any tax from government. So government needs people’s contributions by buying original things in order to get more taxes for Indonesia’s advancements.
There is another effect that is caused of the piracy. Indonesia gets hardness in exporting many products to many countries; one of the countries is United States of America. United States Trade Representative places Indonesia in Priority Watch List exactly in the black list. Indonesia is listed because the government is considered fail in protecting intellectual property rights. The next bad effect is disturbing Indonesia and United States of America relationship in trading. If Indonesia is in the Priority
Watch List, it will face hardness in exporting products to United States because the regulation is strengthened. There will be a lot of regulations that make Indonesia’s exporting activity is changed. America could raise the customs costs; this cost is different for the countries which are not in the Priority Watch List.
This thing will make hardness for Indonesian businessman to compete with the other businessman from other countries which are not in Priority Watch List. It causes the price that is offered by Indonesia’s businessman is not enough attracting because the tax is so high for that product. It is obvious that Indonesia’s efforts to reduce piracy are not maximal. We can conclude that actually the most important role to reduce the exporting problem to United States is from people of Indonesia. People should realize to stop buying the pirated DVDs, CDs or software because the money that they buy will come back to their selves in different form.
If the pirated products have been spread widely, the existence of the original products will decrease rapidly. That situation is also affected by the attitude of people in Indonesia who like to buy things with cheap price and also in a good quality. The decrement of original products existence will move fast while government’s effort to reduce pirated things is not worthy and people’s attitude become messier. It will cause many people become hard to get the original product because its position has been placed by the pirated products. Over the period people finally will be tired with the pirated products over their lives. They will ‘kill’ many producers, artists or corporations did for living. People cannot differ which one is the original or pirated product. With this situation in Indonesia, the neighbor countries perhaps will discriminate Indonesia from export and import activities. Indonesia will get many pressures from superpower countries that are in a form of strict regulations in trading. So the future is in this time people’s hand, what will this country is and when will this country grows. The answer will be good if Indonesian people choose to use the original products to grow this land and nation.
The last disadvantage that people will get is moral problem. People cannot deny that doing piracy is against the law. The sellers firstly will get raid and after that they will get high fine form the government. The heaviest punishment that the sellers can get is jailed. People never think about the risks in selling the pirated DVDs, CDs or software. Buying and selling pirated activities will make the result. The results are a habitual and character of Indonesian people. If people are used to buying and selling, people will forget how to appreciate each other. Appreciating each other is really important, especially appreciate somebody’s efforts or works. Appreciating somebody’s works could be in a form praising or criticizing, appreciating artists’ or producers’ works is in form of buying their original products. The fact is now people do not respect each other creation, people should be shame of that attitude. Attitude will grow to be a character. The fact is that nation’s characters are the reflection of the people’s behavior. Nobody wants to get bad recognition personally and even get characterized by other nations. Indonesians will recognized as forger people, people who do not appreciate others’ creation, people who are not creative to create and many bad characters as a nation if the people pretend fool and quite about the problem of piracy; a problem about personal’s behavior.
The solution for this problem can come from to side, from the government work with producers and the people. The best approach for pirated things is top – down approach. The
governments with the artists give the best price for the people. Government should response well the pirated things selling fast by giving high fine to make the sellers be wary. If the government makes a strict policy about piracy, so the people should support. People should stop buying piracy things to appreciate the creators and buy the original. People should not share their products through internet because it against the intellectual property rights. The best solution is that people should remind each other to stop buy the pirated things because people need full awareness about this problem.
People think that the effect of buying piracy things is not too tremendous. People think that by buying a pirated CD, DVD or software will not give government loses a lot of money and make the artist, producer or corporation become poor, the fact is not the same with what they think about buying it. The first disadvantage that is created is money loss of the creators. The more money the creators lose, the more passion and spirit lose by them. So it means that selling shows how being liked is the products or the artist. The fact is their original products are just silent in the store and the artists will break their spirit and will not create anymore. With piracy the taxes are decrease a lot. Paying tax is the duty of Indonesian. If we do not participate in tax, Indonesia cannot develop infrastructures, educations, industries, technologies and energies. Then Indonesia is being discriminated in international trading. Original products will decrease along with people demands for cheap products, so original products will be placed with the pirated in people’s eyes. The last Indonesia will be characterized by other countries with bad behavior nation which like to violate each others’ creations. So stop buying pirated now or Indonesia will occur many bad thing for the future.
Sources:
http://www.antara.co.id/arc/2008/8/26/kerugian-dari- pembajakan-software-di-indonesia-rp3-8-triliun/
http://www.kangagun.com/page.php?
lang=id&menu=news_view&news_id=19
http://www.sda- indo.com/sda/interview/psecom,id,39,_language,Indonesia,nodeid,1,xv_query,pembajakan,xv_numresults,35,xv_sortvalue,0.html
http://www.detikinet.com/read/2009/05/12/145001/1130173/399/as-balas-dendam-pembajakan-di-indonesia
Author: Khemal Abidin
NIM : 16408059
WR-03
