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TV Smith's Dua Sen. The politically incorrect irregular columnist combines
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CLONEISM
by TV Smith
06/09/04
Entry:
clo·ne·ism
Pronunciation: -nE-"i-z&m
Function:
noun
Etymology: Greek klOn twig, slip; akin to Greek klan
to break (Merriam-Webster)
1: partiality to clones especially
as evidenced in Malaysian society
2: Ah Beng pronunciation of cronyism A
contractor friend of mine who specialises in building new bars and restaurants
said he no longer works with interior designers. He lets his potential clients
flip through an American coffee table book entitled "Bars & Restaurants".
They then pick a design from there, just like how a customer would pick a new
hairstyle from a magazine in a saloon. He's not taking the easy way out, mind
you. And these are big-budget establishments in uppity Bangsar and Desa Sri Hartamas.
Just that every time he pays someone to create an original design; the potential
customer will borrow it and use ANOTHER contractor.
| Look
at some of the signboards and logos around town. The names may be vaguely similar
or unashamedly identical, but the original customised font, letterform
or typeface is almost always retained. Blatant rip-off or inspired designs? You
be the judge... |  |  |  |
The
reverse happens. Uncanny coincidence or some Americans cloned our designs? |  |  | | Los
Angeles, California | Shah
Alam, Selangor |
 |  | | Irvine,
California |
Taman Connaught, Cheras |
 |  | | They
have friends... |
Kita ada kawan kawan kawan... |
Tourists
love our imitation perfumes, VCDs, software, branded leather goods, Hard Rock
Café T-shirts and Rolex watches. The government even built a fake blue
roof to shelter the purveyors of these fine goods. We are now happily cloning
Astro cards, ATM cards, credit cards, concert tickets, DVDs, lithium batteries,
holograms and 'original' stickers. We continue churning out fake money, driver's
license, road tax, passports, work permits, ink cartridges, CDs, essence of chicken,
aspirins, Viagra, liquor, engine oil and spare parts. No product or design is
left untouched. Where else, but Malaysia, can one find so many chain stores specialising
in photostating and binding books? I
know Thailand and China are also into cloning capitalism big time. After all,
regional stalwarts Taiwan and Japan graduated as industrialised nations by replicating
every Western invention. Japan, unlike us, went beyond mindless copying. They
reverse engineered, invested in R&D and eventually built products better than
the so-called originals. Of course, now that they are First World, they enforced
their patent and IP rights unbendingly on every Third World nation. Can
Malaysia leapfrog into developed country status, skipping a few crucial classes
along the way? We try to buy our way in, as always. We imported entire automobile
factories, bought ready-made designs and proclaimed ourselves world-beaters. We
will soon send an astronaut into space on another costly national ego trip. Never
mind the fact that we never had an aerospace industry or that our kids are still
blowing off their fingers with homemade firecrackers made from badly copied plans.
All
logos, brands and product names referenced on this page may be the trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective owners/holders.
©
2004 TV SMITH
Link to this article: http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/060904_cloneism.html
See also: SIGN LANGUAGE | MALAYSIAN
COSMONAUT | MOUSE & RATS | UNCLE
HO | FAILED PRODUCTS
Link
to TV Smith's Dua Sen: http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/
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