PENANG won another accolade when the state was ranked as the safest city in the country based on a survey by Numbeo - a global data-gathering site.
Numbeo is a research and data gathering portal based out of Serbia and has conducted several surveys on Penang, including the cost of living pricing.
Penang Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow was glad to note the achievement, saying that street crimes, including robberies and serious offences, have been under control in Penang.
But he did note that the state tends to become a hub for drug trafficking due to its reputation as a logistics centre with good road, rail, sea and air linkages.
Numbeo’s latest data ranks Penang 77th globally with a score of 69.7, the lowest crime index among five major Malaysian cities, Chow revealed.
Chow said such achievements can pull in more tourists.
“There are more than 1,000 CCTVs (closed circuit television) on the island and over 200 on the mainland. We plan to increase the number in Prai to over 1,000 soon."
Chow was speaking to the press during the Chinese New Year open-house organised by his office at the Setia SPICE Arena.
He also acknowledged that resolving Penang’s traffic congestion requires a combination of solutions, as no single measure can fully address the issue.
He said one of the ongoing efforts is the proposed parking hour limit by the Penang Island City Council (MBPP), which is in the process of being adopted in some localities at George Town.
He also said that both local authorities in the state have begun to deploy traffic wardens to assist the traffic police in ensuring road users obey the traffic regulations and to aid in dispersing traffic from common bottleneck locations.
Meanwhile, veteran lawyer S. Raveentharan said that the crime issue in Penang is mostly now confined to the cyber world with mounting scam reports and misleading advertorials online, which tend to confound both the police and the victims.
He also urged the authorities to ensure there are no illicit activities taking place in high rise living buildings where it can be hidden from the public glare.
The state needs to engage its cybersecurity experts to prevent more scams from unfolding this year, especially with the vulnerable groups such as senior citizens and rural villagers, who are prone to being scammed.
The long arm of the law is also needed to combat online crime, said Raveentharan. - January 31, 2025.
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