BEIJING: Malaysia is considering adopting Chinese-style policing technology, including high-definition closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance and facial recognition, to strengthen crime prevention in high-risk areas and tourist hotspots.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the approach could help authorities identify suspects and speed up enforcement without relying solely on the physical presence of security personnel.
He said he discussed the proposal with China's Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong during a meeting today, alongside cooperation in combating transnational crime.
Zahid said China's approach used technology to monitor high-risk areas and detect criminal activity, helping reduce crime in hotspots.
"This is one of the areas of mutual interest that I discussed with Wang. We looked at how the country uses modern policing methods, whereby the non-omnipresence approach helps reduce crime rates in crime hotspots," he said.
He was speaking at a press conference with Malaysian media after the meeting, held during his five-day working visit to China, which began on Monday.
He said CCTV cameras installed about 50 metres apart in high-risk areas in China enabled authorities to identify suspects and make arrests within less than 4 minutes of a crime being committed.
Zahid said Malaysia had previously piloted a modern policing project in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, when he was home minister. Similar systems in tourist hotspots such as Bukit Bintang had also helped reduce bag-snatching incidents, he added.
However, Zahid said budget constraints remained a challenge to expanding the technology nationwide.
He said he would share the findings from his visit at a Cabinet meeting to assess the technology's potential application, particularly in areas with high crime rates and tourist hotspots.
"Perhaps one day, if we have greater financial resources, we could also implement this modern policing model, possibly not across all district police headquarters (IPDs), but only in areas with high crime rates, as well as tourist hotspots," he said.
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