Petaling Jaya will have about 100 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at strategic locations this year, said deputy mayor Puasa Md Taib.
“We want to make sure the city is safer and we will be working closely with the police,” he said at the launch of the ‘Petaling Jaya Towards a Peaceful City’ campaign.
The campaign, launched at the Dewan Ilmu in Petaling Jaya City Council Community Library, is among efforts to promote safety awareness among city folk.
The event was held as part of the Livable Cities Workshop in line with the Housing and Local Government Ministry ‘Safe City’ programme due to the country’s increased crime index.
The event was broken down to two sessions, ‘Safe City’ and ‘Sustainable Environment’, where talks were held topics like managing fear and panic, action plan on avoidance and survival, composting as well as river management.
Puasa said safety was the responsibility of every individual.
“Having a safe city also involves our environment but the realisation among people is not quite there as compared with developed countries.
“We also allocated about RM60mil for waste management, which could easily be reduced if it is done at home,” he said.
He also said the council had installed a machine in the SS2 market to process waste into fertiliser.
As part of the event, an interactive talk by Kickstart Academy coach Saiful Hamiruzzaman Mohd Hazir on the basic techniques of self-defence was also held.
Saiful said the techniques were about awareness, psychology and avoidance while only 5% was about self-defence.
One of the major tips he shared was that it was always important to save than to defend.
“Do not try to become a hero and react smart because life is important.
“In most cases people panic, so do not compromise. If they want your bag, give it to them and run away,” he said, adding that screaming ‘fire’ often attracted people’s attention.
He also said more men should attend basic safety classes because they made up 80% of victims.
