The Kuching South City Council (MBKS) is focused on transforming Kuching into a smart city as part of its five-year plan, said Datuk Wee Hong Seng.
The Kuching South mayor said among the first steps include the installation of more high-resolution closed-circuit television units (CCTVs).
He added the council is in discussions with Syarikat Sesco Bhd regarding the replacement of existing street lights with LED types.
“Apart from these measures, we will carry on with the ban of plastics and stern action will be taken against individuals who fail to comply with the policy.
“We will also continue collaborating with the Unicef on child’s protection and recently we have discussed with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the ageing-friendly city concept.
“These are among our plans for the next three to five years. It is estimated that by 2028, Kuching will be an ageing city. Before we come to that, we have to do something,” he said during his Facebook live session ‘Shall WEE Talk’ yesterday.
To help address the ageing issue, Wee said MBKS would do its part to make sure that the public parks within its jurisdictions are age-friendly.
Towards this end, he said MBKS would include this aspect as a condition pending approval for development plans in the city.
“We will also be in touch with the ageing community, to hear them out and discuss with them and incorporate their input into our future plans.
“Of course, our status as the Unesco City of Gastronomy and the City of Unity must continue to be preserved while our green efforts to fight climate change must go on.
“MBKS has set up committees for all these and we will bring in professionals and experts to be our committee members,” he said.
Wee also acknowledged traffic congestion as another issue for the council to address.
“It is hoped that the autonomous rail transit (ART) can serve to help reduce the number of cars moving on the road. We hope that more people will opt for ART as this public transport matures in the future,” he said.
He added the council is planning to upgrade all the traffic lights into smart traffic lights equipped with CCTV for surveillance.
To achieve all this, he said MBKS would need continuous feedback from the community to further improve the city.
Source : The Borneo Post