Two of 20 proposed CCTVs set up in City
KOTA KINABALU:
Be careful what you are doing in public places around the city. You are being watched at all times.
This was a warning from City Hall Director General Datuk Dr Chua Kim Hing, who revealed that two closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras have been set up at Segama and Gaya Street here.
“The CCTVs are meant not only to further improve security and public safety, but also to help create more responsible citizens,” he said, adding that the images would be monitored round the clock in their monitoring room at the City Hall building.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday to announce the City Run to be held on Feb 24, Chua said the two sets are among the 20 CCTVs proposed by the police to be set up at crime-risk areas around here.
He said the two CCTVs were installed in the middle of last month and to date, several people have been compounded for committing even the most minor offences such as indiscriminately disposing of rubbish, littering and even stealing plants belonging to the local authority. “Everything is monitored. If we see anyone violating the by-laws, we will contact our men on the ground to nab them, and if it concerns crime, the police will be notified immediately,” said Chua. He added that more CCTVs would be setup pending allocation from the Federal Government. “The message in having CCTVs is not just to prevent crime, but also to educate the public to be more responsible. We can make the City a better place to be in if we all behave well,” he said. Chua also touched on issues pertaining to rubbish, saying the City Hall would be adopting the Litter Free Event on Feb 24. “Big events have always been associated with piles of rubbish, and it is time that the people are educated to refrain from littering and make it a habit to dispose of rubbish properly,” he said. Chua said the Sure Heboh was the worst scenario in terms of environmental impact as tonnes of rubbish were left behind after the event. “We want to change the people’s mindset. We want them to be responsible enough to dispose of their rubbish properly and refrain from littering,” he stressed. “In this respect, we have planned several programmes to educate the public, which among others include an Anti Littering Campaign to be jointly organised with the Youth and Sports Department, and it will see some 6,000 people collecting rubbish and cleaning up the City soon,” he said. Chua said they had carried out a similar project before and the results were shocking. It was held during the former Mayor Datuk Abdul Ghani Abdul Rashid’s time, which only involved City Hall officers and personnel. During that time, the operation was only concentrated along the roadsides and even so, there was not enough rubbish bags and the trips made by the garbage trucks were uncountable .... it was beyond our expectation and shocking,” he said.
With this in mind, this time the City Hall has decided to include the public in the effort with the hope that it would teach them the valuable lesson of maintaining cleanliness.
In addition to this, Chua said unauthorised advertisements, such as those pinned on the walls, bus stops, public phones and even those slipped into vehicle windows, would no longer be allowed.
It is an offence as it needs a proper permit. Besides, it is an eyesore and a public nuisance. Last year alone, we nabbed four people for committing the offence and would be charged in Court soon, he said.
