Avid online gamers in Subang Jaya, who warm the seats in cybercafes into the wee hours of the morning, battling ferocious virtual villains are now faced with a formidable foe - the local municipal council.

Come next year, a new ruling issued by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) will forbid gaming after midnight.

While cybercafe operators welcomed the move, gamers are tempted to click on the 'FIRE' button.

Under the new ruling, cybercafes within the jurisdiction of MPSJ must separate patrons who surf the Internet from those who play online network games when the clock strikes 12.

According to Subang Jaya state assemblyperson and MPSJ councillor Lee Hwa Beng, who was quoted in a news report last week, the move is aimed at curtailing the unhealthy addiction for these games.

Council enforcement officers would also be conducting nightly checks and operators found violating the new ruling would have their licenses revoked.

An owner of two cybercafes in Subang Jaya, who wished to be identified only as Soon, said the new ruling could actually benefit his business.

He claimed that there were few customers after midnight and there is also the element of danger as robberies have occurred during the wee hours of the morning.

However, he questioned if the council's main objective could be achieved through the new ruling as he felt that there were many external factors that encourage gaming addiction.

Parental responsibility

He said parents must be responsible for their children's actions and should not always pin the blame on cybercafes.

"Some people come to cybercafes to socialise and they spend relatively little for a few hours of entertainment.

"If one has free time, there is no harm in paying RM2 for an hour to play games. Its mentally stimulating" he told malaysiakini .

Soon stressed that there were no criminal activities in his premises and he has installed video cameras throughout the cybercafes to monitor patrons' activities.

He said some parents trust cybercafe operators and act responsibly. "They drop their children in cybercafes during the weekend and pay their expenses when they pick them up later."

Raymond Chan, who owns the popular Autosurf Sdn Bhd cybercafe in SS15, Subang Jaya, also welcomed the new ruling as it would encourage patrons to visit his premises earlier.

He said cybercafe owners have yet to receive formal notification from the council regarding the change and they would like to see the details of the ruling in black and white.

"Is this ruling going to be enforced during the weekends as well?" he asked, adding that there were gray areas that MPSJ needed to define such as browser-based games.

Chan disclosed that he has always maintained a policy of not allowing children below 18 to use his facilities.

"It is the adults who are going to be affected by the ruling, and many of them are wage earners capable of making responsible decisions for themselves," he said.

Encourage corruption

However, the new ruling has led some gamers to see red.

One of them, who identified himself only as Donald, said the new ruling would only encourage corruption as enforcement officials could be bribed to turn a blind eye to outlets flouting it

Donald, who is a manager in a pub, only gets to lay his fingers on a keyboard after work at about 2am.

"I am a responsible adult capable of being self-disciplined and knows how to manage my time. I don't need MPSJ to do that for me," he said.

Echoing a similar view was arts and design student Ah Lun (photo), who is a semi-professional gamer who receives sponsorships to compete in tournaments.

He felt that parents who are negligent of their children's activities were now inconveniencing working adults who want to relax after work.

"It is up to parents to control their children. Would they rather their children pay a small sum of money to be in a safe cybercafe or would they rather their children end up in a smoky snooker centre or getting drunk in a discotheque?" he asked.