I refer to an article in the MalayMail Online yesterday entitled “Faulty CCTVs at police stations due to lack of funds, says Home Ministry” (http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/faulty-cctvs-at-police-stations-due-to-lack-of-funds), in which Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed is quoted as saying as follows:
“Budget constraints have been the cause of faulty closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitors in police stations.”
“The ministry is aware of the situation and the limited budget is the cause,” Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed told Malay Mail.”
With respect to the Deputy Minister, this response is completely unacceptable. It is yet another embarrassing example of the utter failure on part of the Najib administration to deliver on pledges made to resolve issues of public importance.
The fact remains that the rise in cases of alleged incidents in police stations led to the demand for CCTV camera’s to be placed there.
Most of the time, there are problems because there are different versions given of events which take place in these places. These form part of the matters which were raised in the debates in Parliament following which assurances were made for CCTV camera’s to be put in place. That would not only greatly assist when it came to probing such complaints, it would also deter any such incidents from occurring as the would be assailants would be less likely to act if they knew they were being watched. That in itself would ensure that cases like these do not occur anymore or are significantly reduced.
So, these are measures recommended to solve a big problem. Having said that, how can the government say it has no funds to install cameras?. What is even worse is having camera’s which do not work. What is the use of having camera’s that don’t work? This is plainly shameful.
Budget constraints cannot be a reason for the failure on part of the government to implement measures such as these. Is it so short of funds that it cannot even afford to maintain CCTV camera’s in police stations? That doesn’t sit well with the Prime Minister’s position that the country is in a solid financial state.
I urge Nur Jazlan to buck up. He must appreciate the pain and frustration on part of those who claim to be victims of incidents in police stations and the difficulties they face. He should also recognise the value these camera’s have for officers who have been wrongly accused. He must therefore acknowledge the need for this problem to be addressed urgently.
I call upon Nur Jazlan to press hard for funds in the upcoming budget session to ensure this problem is solved. He can rest assured that I will be raising this issue in the Dewan Rakyat then and he should be ready with answers.