Citing security threat, army chief tells soldiers 'no go for Pokemon Go'

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Malaysian army personnel are discouraged from playing the game Pokemon Go as it may threaten the country's security.

Army chief Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor was quoted by Sinar Online as saying they will take measures to curb personnel from playing the game.

“Characters in Pokemon Go can appear in any area including army camps but we do not encourage our personnel to use the application in the camps or wherever they are as the game is a threat to security,” Raja Mohamed Affandi told a press conference in Sungai Petani, Kedah today.

“A character could be atop a roof so this would affect the soldier’s safety and if a character is in a restricted area, then it will involve privacy issues and the country’s safety.

“If soldiers are found to be holding gadgets to hunt for Pokemon characters, we might take action against them,” he added.

The army is concerned about the game's impact on national security as it uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) and allows players to capture pictures of locations using cameras connected to the internet.

Raja Mohamed Affandi noted that prohibitions on sharing certain locations or check-points through applications such as WhatsApp and Waze, already exist.

“I hope there would be similar prohibitions (for this game),” he said.

He said the army viewed this matter seriously as it is the only organisation that ensures the country’s security is at its highest level.

“If it involves matters of security and can threaten the country’s safety, the Malaysian army would therefore not compromise in this.

“I’m confident that the Malaysian army will take the best approach in curbing the game,” he said.

Through the GPS technology, the augmented reality game allows players to catch Pokemon characters which are superimposed onto their surroundings, via their mobile phone screens.

There have been reported cases of trespassing, motor vehicle accidents, assault and bodily injuries involving Pokemon Go players - Mkini