Hisham bans Pokemon game within Mindef grounds

BATU GAJAH: At least two government departments have barred the augmented reality game Pokemon Go from being played within their premises.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has issued a stern warning against the game being played within the ministry’s premises.

He feared the game, which uses the Global Positioning System (GPS), could record or expose sensitive information or locations.

“We will not compromise on the matter.”

On the army, naval and air-force camps, I will leave it for the respective generals to decide on the restriction,” he told a press conference after opening the Batu Gajah Umno division delegates meeting here yesterday.

He was commenting on Army chief Jen Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor’s statement on Friday that army personnel were discouraged from playing the game for fear that its application might contain elements which could pose security threats.

He feared the game application, which uses the GPS, could pose a threat to the security of army camps, military equipment, as well as army personnel.

In JOHOR BARU, state State Health and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Ayub Rahmat reminded doctors and nurses not to play the game in hospitals and clinics in the state.

He said their duties and priorities should be to attend to the patients instead of being engrossed in the game.

“I hope they will heed my advice and if they want to play the game, they can do it after duty,” he said.

Ayub added that since the game was made available in Malaysia, he had seen many people risking their lives by entering private areas and crossing the road while holding their mobile phones.

“Recently, a couple entered my residential area, which is a gated community, and when I asked them who they were and why they had come, the couple gave me a stare and said they were playing Pokemon Go,” he added.