Ever seen one of these here in Malaysia? You probably would have if you are in Penang or Johor Bahru.This installation is a new aid in law enforcement and crime-fighting. The one in the picture is in Johor Bahru and is a recently-installed kiosk that is directly linked to Johor police HQ.
It is located at the Jalan Wong Ah Fook-Jalan Station junction and is meant for the public to call the police in case of an emergency. It is monitored by a CCTV.
This kiosk is the second in the country, the first one being in Penang.
How it works is that in case of an emergency, one only has to stand close to the kiosk, press a button and speak directly into its intercom. A police officer on the other end will then speak with the complainant as in a teleconference. A police team will then be sent to the kiosk immediately to assist in the situation.
Stats show that crime rate has gone down by almost 10% from a year ago. With this new feature, it is anticipated it will help reduce further the crime rate in the region, i.e., the Johor Bahru Iskandar area.
Johor Bahru City Council mayor Burhan Amin said after a ceremony to hand over the kiosk to the Johor police yesterday, "I believe the new kiosk can further instill confidence in visitors here with regard to the level of safety in the city.
"This is in line with our aspiration to make Johor Bahru a global city by 2020."
Source: NST..Cops a press of a button away
Wouldn't you feel a lot safer now when in Johor Bahru?
JB, as it is commonly-referred to, has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. This is attributed to extensive development in the southern capital city. Along with it, the resultant increased inflow of visitors across the Causeway from Singapore.
JB is now the extended playground of many Singaporeans nowadays. They shop, eat and derive entertainment from the many shopping malls, entertainment establishments and food outlets that have sprung up of late.
Many Singaporeans do their shopping in Johor Bahru, taking advantage of the currency exchange rate which is greatly in their favour. The Malaysian Ringgit which used to be on par with the Singapore Dollar is today (Feb 27) at less than 40sen (39.97sen to be exact) to the Sing dollar! In other words, one Singapore Dollar now equals to RM2.5016. This is reason enough for JB to be teeming with Singaporean shoppers during the weekend doing their weekly grocery-shopping or spending a day here in bustling (and cheap price-wise by their standards) JB.
I read the other day that many Singaporeans of Chinese descent even have their Chinese New Year Reunion dinner in restaurants this side of the Causeway in Johor Bahru and that reservations are being made one year in advance! Restaurants are taking reservations for next year's Reunion dinner! Btw, Chinese New Year in 2014 (Year of the Horse) will be on Jan 31, in case you need to make reservations ahead.
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