KUNMING: Malaysia needs to have an integrated closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera system linked to police stations to tackle the country's crime problem.
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said at present, there was an argument of sorts between owners of private business premises and local authorities such as city and municipal councils as to who should own the rights to manage the CCTV systems and recordings.
"The local councils will claim (the CCTV) for their own; the private premises owners will claim them for themselves. But shouldn't it be the police who are in charge, because who else will take the necessary action (should a crime occur)?"
Speaking to the Malaysian media here on the last day of a six-day working visit to China, Zahid said another problem with CCTV systems in Malaysia was that the vast majority still used analogue cameras which were low in resolution.
"Most of them are not high definition (cameras)...we can't use them to track (perpetrators of any crime). And in Malaysia, most CCTV cameras are in private business premises. CCTV systems should have either a wired or wireless link to police stations," he said.
Zahid said this was one of the ways China had managed to bring down its index crime rate over the past three decades.
In Chinese cities such as Beijing, he said, there were CCTV cameras on the streets every 50 metres or so.
He said Chinese authorities utilised HD CCTV cameras and HD tracking CCTV cameras, allowing them to track the movements of suspects of a crime, should they need to do so.
CCTV cameras in business premises, said Zahid, were also linked to police stations.
He said the research and development for the high-technology equipment needed for the integrated CCTV system was made possible thanks to cooperation between the government and the private sector as well as government-linked companies.
The private sector and business owners, he said, also cooperated by installing CCTV cameras in their premises.
Asked whether the Malaysian government would consider giving rebates to business owners who would install HD CCTV cameras in their premises and link them to police stations, Zahid said that was a good suggestion, but it would depend on the finance minister.