School toilet CCTV cameras ordered removed

The Education Ministry has ordered the removal of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras that were placed in the toilets of SMK Seri Sentosa in Kuala Lumpur.

Education Minister (II) Idris Jusoh said the move was inappropriate and the school was yesterday directed to remove the cameras immediately.

“The issue is that it is in the toilet, which we felt was unsuitable and we told them to remove it from there,” Idris told reporters in Putrajaya this morning.

English language daily theSun reported on Tuesday that the school had installed 64 CCTV cameras in the school toilets in March at a cost of RM100,000, three months before receiving approval from the ministry.

The report quoted unnamed parents as saying they only found out about this on Monday and denounced it as “tasteless”, no matter the purpose of the cameras.

However, the school’s principal, Rahmah Abd Haji, said letters of consent had been sent to parents and only 30 percent of them objected at first. But, she said, they later backed down, after hearing her explanation.

The report quoted Rahmah as saying that the cameras were only pointed at the sink area of both the male and female toilets to curb disciplinary issues such as loitering in the toilets, cheating in examinations and vandalism.

She added that vandalism such as graffiti and damage to sinks and doors had cost the school RM90,000 over the past three years.

“The cost was too much for us and the parent-teacher association to bear, so the parents and teachers association ended up suggesting for CCTVs to be installed,” theSun quoted Rahmah as saying.