The Safe City Concept such as the Msafe Putrajaya will be extended to other urban centres throughout the country in an effort to reduce the crime rate, said Information Communication and Culture Minister Rais Yatim.

He said a special report would be tabled to the cabinet on the matter and discussions would be held with the Home Ministry in terms of its implementation  in other urban centres.

He said a total of RM344 million had been allocated for the programme throughout the country whereas the programme was previously implemented in Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur.

"It is obvious that such efforts will be able to reduce the crime rate in the country," he told reporters after launching the Msafe Putrajaya - Towards a Safer Town at the Putrajaya district police headquarters today.

Also present were Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar and Putrajaya Corporation president Samsudin Osman.

Rais said all towns in the country had been targeted for the programme such as Johor Bahru, Penang, Melaka and so on.

He said that under the Msafe Putrajaya programme, a total of 171 closed circuit TV cameras (CCTV) connected to the Emergency Response System 999 (MERS 999) were installed in the city to create a safer city.

He said another five CCTVs would be installed costing RM2.2 million.

However, he said that out of the 1.2 million emergency calls received, 797,000 calls were false alarms and members of the public must be given exposure exposure on the signifcance of the 999 emergency number.

"Now, we must find ways of reducing the false alarms, of course we can take legal action but it will be the last resort. We must prevent such calls first," he said.

- Bernama