PETALING JAYA: Operators of childcare centres agree that closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras should be made mandatory at their premises for them to renew their licences.
Women, family and community development minister Nancy Shukri had made the proposal on Sunday in view of the increasing number of child abuse cases at these centres.
Childcare centre owner Roszlinda Sham agreed that CCTV cameras would add value to their operations and assure parents that their children were in safe hands.
“With a CCTV system, we can monitor what’s happening at the premises. If there’s an accident, we can refer to the recording, so there’s no need for finger-pointing,” she told FMT.
“We can ascertain whether incidents are caused by the children or the workers. (In this way), the owners can make sure their workers do not neglect the children.”
Roszlinda, who runs a childcare centre in Johor Bahru, said a CCTV system should not be an issue for the operators as it was not costly.
Hazreen Syafiela Alang Hamid, who runs a childcare centre in Selangor, suggested that the authorities not only make CCTV cameras compulsory in such premises, but also conduct regular spot checks.
This was to ensure that the systems were functioning properly, and that the CCTV cameras were not placed in positions that allowed for “blindspots”.
A criminologist from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Rahim Kamaluddin, said that in addition to the children’s safety, the CCTVs could serve two other functions.
“When there’s CCTV and a sticker that says the area is monitored by CCTV, it will prevent someone from committing a crime as the risk of being arrested is high,” he said.
“It will also serve as a red flag to outsiders who plan to kidnap a child or commit other crimes.”
Rahim said there must be a standard requirement for CCTVs at childcare centres as they were of various qualities and specifications. - FMT
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