PENANG (Thestar) -
About one third
of Penang Island
roads and intersections
are now the coverage
of closed-circuit television
(CCTV) cameras.
State Local Government and Traffic Management
Committee chairman Chow
Kon Yeow said
this was made
possible with an
additional 24 cameras
from the Housing
and Local Government
Ministry.
“With these additional
CCTV cameras, Penang
island now has
a total of 56 cameras”.
“The 24 new
cameras, which cost
RM2.87mil to install,
became operational on
March 31,” he
said when giving
reporters a tour
of the Penang
Integrated Public Safety
Command Centre in
Komtar.
He said in
a joint effort
with the police,
MPPP had previously
installed 31 cameras
in crime hotspots
and these cameras
had been operational
since February 2008.
MPPP engineering department
senior engineer A.
Rajendran said the
council had installed
one more camera
on Jalan Sungai
earlier this year,
with two more planned
for the Komtar
bus terminal in
August.
The areas covered
by the 24
new cameras include
the Tun Dr Lim Chong
Eu Expressway, Jalan
Air Itam, Jalan
Boundary, Weld Quay, Queensbay
Mall, Several areas
in the Free Industrial
Zone in Bayan Lepas,
Bayan Baru, Tanjuung
Tokong, Tanjung Bungah
and Batu Ferringhi.
Rajendran said the
new cameras were
connected using fibre
optics, unlike the
previous cameras that
ran on a
4.9GHz broadband wireless
system.
“The picture from
the fibre optics
is much sharper
and with the
cameras able to turn
360 degrees horizontally,
as well as
90 degrees vertically,
we get a
very good picture
of what is
happening on the
street,” he said.
Such footages, he
added, had helped
police detect crimes
and accidents as
well as settle
traffic disputes.
Chow added that
the state was
still waiting for
a reply from
the Federal Government
on an additional
58 CCTV cameras
that they had
requested under the
National Result Areas
programme in 2009.
“Out of these
58 cameras, 36 are proposed for
the island while
the other 22
will cover Seberang
Prai,” he added.
