Soalan-soalan untuk jawapan lisan di Parlimen pada 24-9-2012
Tuan Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju) minta Menteri Wilayah Persekutuan Dan Kesejahteraan Bandar menyatakan apakah tindakan yang telah diambil bagi mengatasi masalah pusat-pusat Siber Cafe yang begitu banyak beroperasi di kawasan Wangsa Maju dan adakah tindakan pengawalan telah diambil bagi memastikan aktiviti di pusat Siber Cafe tidak menyalahi undang-undang serta memastikan aktiviti judi tidak berlaku dan murid-murid sekolah tidak dibenarkan memasuki pusat-pusat Siber Cafe berkenaan.
Jawapan:
Tuan Yang Di Pertua,
Untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat dari Wangsa Maju, sebelum Kaedah-Kaedah Pusat Siber dan Kafe Siber ( WPKL ) 2012 dikuatkuasakan pada 15 Jun 2012, aktiviti ini tidak dilesenkan disebabkan tidak terdapat peruntukan undang-undang yang spesifik mengenainya.
Walaubagaimana pun, untuk mengawal kegiatan perjudian yang berlaku di sebalik aktiviti berkenaan maka Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) telah mengambil tindakan jangka pendek dengan mewartakan aktiviti tersebut sebagai aktiviti hiburan di bawah Akta Hiburan ( WPKL ) dan Kaeadah-Keadah Hiburan ( WPKL ) 1992. Tindakan ini untuk membolehkan DBKL mengambil tindakan sita ke atas premis Pusat Siber Kafe dan Kafe Siber yang terlibat dengan aktivitii perjudian sebagaimana peruntukan dalam akta berkenaan.
Sepanjang tahun 2011, sebanyak 123 premis yang terbabit dengan kegiatan perjudian telah dikenakan tindakan sita dan lima (5) daripada premis berkenaan berkenaan adalah di kawasan Parlimen Wangsa Maju. Bagi tahun 2012 sehingga Ogos 2012 sebanyak 42 buah premis telah disita di mana tiga (3) daripadanya adalah di kawasan Parlimen Wangsa Maju.
Tindakan berbentuk operasi bersepadu turut diadakan di dalam manangani permasalahan pelajar ponteng sekolah dengan berkunjung ke Pusat Siber Kafe/ Kafe Siber.
Bagi menambahklan keberkesanan tindakan berkenaan maka kekerapan operasi akan dipertingkatkan bilangannya berbanding hanya diadakan sewaktun pembukaan penggal percutian persekolahan sahaja. Operasi akan membabitkan kerjasama pihak Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM ) dan Jabatan Pendidikan Wilayah Persekutuan kuala Lumpur.
Sebagai tindakan jangka panjang DBKL akan melesenkan aktiviti Pusat Siber dan Kafe Siber setelah Kaedah-Kaedah Pusat Siber dan Kafe Siber (WPKL) 2012 di kuatkuasakan pada 15 Jun 2012.
Adalah dijangkakan DBKL akan memproses permohonan lesen bagi aktiviti berkenaan pada 15 Oktober 2012 iaitu setelah garis panduan untuk melesenkan aktiviti berkenaan di siapkan sepenuhnya.
Dengan adanya Kaeadah-Kaeadah Pusat Siber dan Kefe Siber (WPKL) 2012 memberi kuasa yang luas kepada Datuk Bandar untukmengambil tindakan penguatkuasaan ke atas pengusaha pusat siber dan kafe siber, seperti kuasa menutup, kuasa menangkap dan kuasa menyita.
Apabila Premis Pusat Siber dan Kafe Siber dilesenkan kelak,mereka akan dikenakan syarat-syarat seperti had masa beroperasi, larangan membenarkan aktiviti tertentu berlaku di dalam premis, kawalan/sekatan ke atas kemasukan pelanggan khususnya yang membabitkan pelajar berpakaian sekolah dan sebagainya bagi membantu menanggani isu-isu yang dibangkitkan.
Notes:
This matter has been raised many times in Parliament by yours truly. After yours truly was elected as MP, yours truly has been demanding from the then Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur, Tan Sri Ahamd Fuad bin Ismail, to control the mushrooming of cyber cafes in KL as they have created social problems. During one of the meetings with the then Datuk Bandar, the said Datuk Bandar has confirmed that DBKL had in fact forwarded the new Rules to control cyber cafe to Ministry of Wilayah Persekutuan, in HERE, HERE.
In June 2012 Session of Parliament, yours truly did ask a similar question, the answer by the Minister is in HERE.
However, the little napoleons in the Ministry have been sitting on it until recently. It was only after this Parliamentary question was tabled in Parliament that the little napoleons in Wilayah Persekutuan were suddenly woken up from their sleep. The new Rules will only be in operation on 15 October 2012. It is better late than never.
By co-incidence, Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib, who was appointed Bandur Bandar Kuala Lumpur on 18-7-2012 for two years, was the Secretary-General of the Ministry that looked after the little napoleons in the Ministry.
It is high time that the Minister should question his little napoleons why it took them three long years to put into force the new Rules when cyber cafes generally have created social problems in Wilayah Persekutuan and parents were screaming for actions.
It is the hope of all parents that after 15-10-2012, Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur will take drastic actions to control cyber cafes in Wilayah.
Wee Choo Keong 
Saya bersetuju bahawa DBKL mengambil tindakan keras terhadap siber kafe kerana ia menimbulkan pelbagai masalah untuk ibubapak. Terima kasih
3 years for such a small thing? I weep
Three long years to stop this social problem. What is the Minister is doing all a the while? The Ministry is the main culprit in hindering the running of DBKL due to political interference by the officers.
It is due to YB’s persistence that these little napoleon in the Ministry had to act in the public interest. Good show YB.
Cyber cafes were originally intended as places for people who did not have Internet access at home to go online and this was especially true when Internet penetration was very low and most of us accessed the Internet via a dial-up modem.
However today, the situation has changed, especially in urban areas, with people having Internet access of some kind and most now have some form of broadband Internet access.
Meanwhile, these cybercafes had morphed from being public places of Internet access to gain information, knowledge, etc into glorified game parlours. Just step into any cybercafe and see how many patrons are using them to access the Internet, e-mail, etc and how many are playing games.
Today we hardly find any video game parlours but they have been replaced by cybercafes which continue to hide behind the cover of public Internet access.
Hence these cybercafes have replaced video game parlours as sources of vice and social problems affecting especially the young.
It’s time to shut them down and provide free public WiFi coverage, especially of areas where the lower income group live. The technology exists to provide WiFi coverage of whole blocks of flats, condominia, etc. using outdoor base stations. It’s currently used to provide coverage of luxury hotels, resorts, etc but can be used to provide free social Internet access.