By Danial Dzulkifly
SHAH ALAM, Oct 19 — When a lorry disappeared in the dead of night last August, it was not conventional police work that led to its recovery but an advanced eye in the sky.
A smart, high-definition camera belonging to the Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) captured the suspect’s face with infrared clarity and sent the footage directly to police investigators.
The case illustrated how the city’s expanding network of smart surveillance cameras has transformed local law enforcement.
According to MBSJ, the surveillance network is part of the council’s broader smart city initiative, aimed at enhancing both safety and civic management.
“This digitalisation effort has increased public confidence in safety levels, while also raising awareness that continuous monitoring is being carried out by authorities, including the police and the MBSJ Enforcement Department.
“It has also encouraged the public to be more disciplined and cautious in public spaces, thereby strengthening community well-being,” MBSJ said in a written reply toMedia Selangor.
The council said the system links its command centre directly to the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) control room in Serdang, enabling seamless data sharing and faster response times.
It added that the integration allows police to monitor suspicious activity in real time while investigators access footage admissible as evidence in court.
The system also analyses recorded data to identify crime patterns and hotspots, allowing officers to deploy patrols strategically to high-risk areas.
“The placement of CCTV cameras is determined based on areas identified as ‘crime-prone zones’ to ensure more effective and comprehensive monitoring coverage,” it said.
Each CCTV unit features pan-tilt-zoom functionality, high-resolution recording, infrared night vision, and built-in loudspeakers for live communication, technology that proved vital in the August truck theft case.
Beyond crime prevention, MBSJ’s system also supports disaster preparedness.
The city has installed 13 water-level monitoring stations in flood-prone zones, feeding data to the Disaster Operations Control Centre for early warnings and evacuation coordination.
The council currently operates 182 CCTV cameras through its Subang Jaya Vibrant Command Centre (SJVCC), including 100 owned by MBSJ, 50 managed by the State Secretary’s Office, 10 focused on illegal dumping hotspots, and 22 mobile units.
Between January and August 2025, footage from the city’s CCTV system captured 7,500 offences, including 5,661 parking violations, 1,486 cases of traffic obstruction, 252 public obstructions, 140 involving unlicensed hawkers, and 37 related to illegal dumping.
