I refer to the letter Sex lure for teens at cyber cafes .
There is a need to strictly regulate cyber cafes throughout the nation. The are just too many around, with an estimated 50 new cyber cafes every 6 months.
Some cyber cafe operators, while waiting for their licenses to be approved by the local council, just use their business registration payment slips to operate.
Some of the regulations for cyber cafes that were proposed by the government included:
1. No entry for those under 18 years of age
2. No entry for students
3. No video games
4. Business premises must be at ground floor
5. Business hours restricted to from 9am till 12 midnight
Unfortunately, none of the rules above have been successfully adhered to by cyber cafe operators.
Here are the reasons why:
1. Cyber cafes rely on income generated from customers who are under 18 years of age.
2. Cyber cafes also rely on income generated from students who play truant. Some cyber cafe operators even provide clothes for students to change into from their school uniforms.
3. Cyber cafes rely on income generated from video games like Warcraft (Dota) and other online games or MMORPG which stand for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games.
4. Cyber cafes rent or buy their premises before applying for a license. Most of these premises are located on the second floor.
5. Cyber cafes rely on income generated from 24 hours of business operation per day. Cyber cafes will only pretend to close their front doors after 12 midnight. Entry is still permitted via the back door. Some even give out their phone numbers and will open their doors once they receive calls from incoming customers.
The local authorities are equally guilty of closing an eye and taking bribes thus letting these operators run 24 hours a day.
It is totally impossible for cyber cafe operators to operate according to regulations when their start-up capital is more than RM100k and their charges are only RM2 an hour. So they need to earn as much as they can from students playing truant, using video games to attract them.
Strictly adhering to regulations would mean massive monthly losses.
I would suggest that the authorities revoke all cybercafe licenses and only re-issue them to operators who strictly adhere to the rules.
Here are the dangers that are currently clear and present:
1. Chronic truancy. Most of the truant students will hide out in cyber cafes to play games and smoke cigarettes. Some consultancy with teachers will reveal that most teachers don't care about their truant students. They will point fingers and lay all the blame on the parents.
2. Drug dealers are finding safe havens in cyber cafes. This is due to the fact that it is far more dangerous for them to be at discos or nightclubs. So they hang out in cyber cafes posing as gamers.
When calls come from customers wanting substances, these dealers can deliver the goods speedily on time as most cyber cafes are strategically located in urban areas. So, cybercafes have become a safe base for drug dealers to operate without the knowledge of cyber cafe operators.
3. Online gambling.
4. Addiction to games.
In summary, cybercafes used to be a great place for college students to unwind and relax by surfing the Internet or playing a game or two.
But behind the seemingly innocent front, lies the dark truth that improper regulations have led to abuse.
Truant students wasting away their time and their parent's hard earned income while drug dealers and football bookies are using these establishments as their base of operations.