MBKS needs 197 CCTV cameras to improve residential security

KUCHING : Kuching South City Council (MBKS) needs 197 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to cover residential areas.

Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng said MBKS had so far installed 67 CCTV cameras, mostly in commercial areas, and the focus would now shift to neighbourhoods.

“The council would first study which residential neighbourhoods were most important, including their entrances and exits, before submitting recommendations to the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), which will carry out the installation,” he said.

“We are the city council, so we will put up our recommendation,” he said, adding that MBKS would provide the locations because it was familiar with the ground.

He said the number of CCTV cameras in the MBKS area was expected to rise to 140 or more, but the allocation received was not enough to cover residential needs.

“No doubt what they have allocated to us is not really sufficient, but I think we will concentrate on the more important area first,” he said.

MBKS would continue to seek more funding, he added.

Wee said the expansion was still at the planning stage, with implementation expected in 2027 and 2028, and the system would be linked to the Sarawak Integrated Operation Centre (SIOC).

He was met by reporters during ‘An Evening with MBKS Residents 1.0’ event at the Kenyalang Park Community Association on Saturday (Oct. 17).

On community engagement, he said MBKS was also looking at urban farming in the area, which had just received basic infrastructure upgrades and had more than 10 acres of green space.

Instead of leaving the land behind the houses to grow wild, the council had spoken to the group behind the natural farmers’ market to see if they could help develop it, he said.

“Whatever is planted, they can share among the neighbourhood. So that again will bring people together,” he said.