Pokémon trainers aren’t the only ones wanting to catch ’em all. Though we doubt that criminals in the wild can be caught by throwing red-and-white Poké Balls at them (we tried), the Singapore Police Force couldn’t help but jump into the voracious sensation that is Pokémon Go.
Their little Poké fun comes a week after their fellow Home Team colleagues Singapore Civil Defence Force also commented on the phenomenon (that has yet to arrive here, mind you). They’ve issued a friendly reminder not to crowd around fire stations — and for good reason, considering heavy emergency vehicles have to flit in and out fast.
The government, however, wasn’t so well disposed in its outlook for the augmented reality game when it eventually arrives in Singapore. The Straits Times reported that Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim responded to queries on issuing official governmental guidelines regarding Pokémon Go, like what Japan did.
Speaking to reporters at the National Deaf Games yesterday, Yaacob highlighted the government’s cautious approach to the sensation that has caused some trouble overseas.
“We have to study very, very carefully whatever that is brought into Singapore,” he said. “We will monitor the situation, how this particular game is being played and… its impact on society.”
Standard government regulations on all things deemed socially undesirable? Maybe, according to the minister. He added that if it becomes a seriously concerning matter, the Media Development Authority will decide if the game “is really needed here” or at least how they can make it a “win-win situation”.
Sounds ominous. In any case, it’ll be a while before the game does arrive here, so the government has plenty of time to assemble the greatest minds in the Pokémon industry to plan out potential kinks. Nah, we kid — they might just get people who don’t even understand how the game works to decide what’s best for Singaporeans.
PS: It’s good to know that opposition party Workers’ Party are all for citizen rights in catching Pokémon.
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