ON
friday
OCT 18, 2013
byMeera Ammani
According
to the latest figures from
the official portal of the Royal Malaysia
Police, there were a total of 11,586
residential break-ins reported in the
country between January and June 2013.
Not only are daylight robberies on the
rise, but intruders seem to be becoming
more daring, even attemting to break
into heavily guarded properties.
Securing homes
AlthoughMalaysians have become
more conscious about security in
general, with some taking pro-active
steps such as safeguarding their homes
with security guards and neighborhood
patrol services, Derek De Souza,
manager of ASG Security, thinks this is
insufficient. “Amore effective
methodwould be to install an alarm
and security system, and if
possible have it monitored by a
central monitoring system
(CMS) company. The
security companymay
also be able to offer
more secured
monitoring ie. cameras
installed at the entire
perimeter of the
development in the case
of a gated community,”
he explains.
Allan Tan,
a homeowner
residing in a gated
and guarded
(G&G) residential
area in Petaling
Jaya, agrees with
this. "Our house had
been broken into
twice before," he
informs. “I frequently
travel for work, somy
wife and two-year-old
daughter are home alone
a lot. Something needed to be
done about the break-ins. So, we
decided to install an alarm system,
complete with CCTV’s and sensors
at every door andwindow around
the house."
Four months after installing the
security system, Tan’s wife was shopping
when she received an alert on her
smartphone that the alarmhad been
triggered. She immediately informed the
security patrol of her G&G residential
development, who reached her home
withinminutes and foiled the break-in.
“The intruder was a foreign construction
worker who was working at a nearby
house. He had been observing our
movements for a couple of months,”
informed Tan. “Even G&G communities
can use a helping hand. It’s not possible
for the guards and patrol services to
watch every house in the development
everyminute.”
Due to the growing need for security
among homeowners, many cutting edge
advances continue to be developed in the
industry. Among them are devices that
can recognise faces, voices, fingerprints
and such.
Senthil Pathmanaban, a homeowner
fromBukit Damansara, attests to these
high-tech security gadgets. “You shouldn’t
compromise on the security of your home.
Onmy recent trip to the US, I bought one
of the top-of-the-range home security
systems in the market. By programming
the computer linked to the security system,
I can control who enters my property.
Each personwho is authorised to enter the
house will get his or her own code to input
into the call box outside the gate. This
allows me to control access. For instance,
if I choose to only let my swimming pool
cleaner come in during the daytime hours
of between 4pm-6pm, and he tries to use
his code after the allocated hours, he will
not be able to get in. This event will also be
logged intomy system and I would be
prompted to know of it.”
Annabelle Koshy is someone who
believes that home security should be
important to everyone, whether living in a
bungalow, link house or apartment.
“It's important to do everything possible
tomake your home safe instead of just
relying on others.” Koshy stays at a high-
end condominium in the posh perimeters of
Mont Kiara where security is tighter than
most areas. There guards are on duty 24/7,
and access into the condo building is
through proximity or access cards
which only open up to a limited number
of areas within the property. “We have to
scan our access card on a scanner in the
lift before selecting the level we want
to go to. The lift only opens up to the
floor you reside on,” she says. Every
visitor is required to be personally
signed in by the resident before being
allowed in.
When Koshy decided tomove
in to the condominium in her
early twenties, her parents
were adamant that she install
a security system in her
condominiumunit. “My
housewarming gifts were
fingerprint access controls
for the front door andmy
bedroomdoor! There was quite
a bit of work involved in the
installation, and I had
to get approval from the
management, but it gave my
parents peace of mind knowing that I
had an extra layer of security. I’m the only
one staying here so it’s better to be safe than
sorry,” she shares.
Important security features
De Souza explains that before investing in a
home security system, some of the
important things a homeowner should look
out for, are the cost of the system and the
simplicity of its use. “Check whether the
system can informyou of security alerts via
the internet or telephone line to a mobile
phone, central monitoring system (CMS) or
by sending an SMSmessage,” he says.
The CMS works bymonitoring your
alarm system 24/7, through a manned
station andwill usually have a direct
connection to the police network. In the
event of an alarmgoing off, the CMS will
receive a signal
withinminutes and
will be able to tell
the area of break-in.
Depending on the
package you have, the
CMS canmonitor for
panic signals, duress codes
during disarming, fire alarm
signals and even requests for an
ambulance. All this is possible
through the press of a button on the
alarmkeypad.
Security systems are without a
doubt a convenient asset to every
home, especially now, with the
emergence of mobile security, where
you can conveniently pick up your
iPad or smartphone and view your
security video online. It’s almost as if you
were guarding your home yourself.
FIABCIMalaysia
FIABCI
was introduced into Malaysia in
1975. It was led by Datuk Yaakob bin
Hitam and was initially established as the
networking arm of the Housing
Developers Association, now known as
REHDA. While at first, the role it played
was to foster goodwill and understanding
amongst international organisations, as a
platform for developers to build and
exchange ideas on a whole range of
property development issues, its vision
and mission today, has expanded, in
length and depth.
The FIABCI Malaysian Chapter is an
NGO. Its members consist of real estate
property industry players grouped into six
categories, namely principal members;
academic members; corporate ordinary
members; individual ordinary members;
young members; and academic student
members. The eight principal members
under the organistaion are: the Malaysian
Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA);
Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM);
Real Estate & Housing Developer
Association
Malaysia
(REHDA); Sabah
Housing & Real
Estate Develpper
Association (SHAREDA); Malaysian
Shopping Malls Association (PPKM); The
Royal Institute of Surveyors, Malaysia
(RISM); Association of Valuers, Property
Managers, Estate Agents and Property
Consultants in the Private Sector Malaysia
(PEPS); and Sarawak Housing & Real
Estate Developer’s Association (SHEDA).
Apart from its fundamental role, FIABCI
Malaysia has established itself to lead and
develop the Malaysian property industry
by instilling exceptional standards that
foster nation building thus, securing
quality living for all Malaysians. Its vision
and mission:
X
X
provide interaction, networking,
knowledge sharing platform for its
members, thus creating business
opportunities
X
X
improve the quality and
competitiveness of its members
through various activities and
professional practices that conform to
international standards
X
X
give recognition to Malaysian
developers and projects for their
initiative, technologies, creativity and
innovation through awards for
excellence
X
X
introduce Malaysian development
advancement to the world and
international awards for excellence.
Watch our weekly column for further
insights on FIABCI.
ADVERTORIAL
X
X
Please email your queries to us:
PART 2
estimated costs of
popular Security
Systems in Malaysia
X
X
Burglar alarm system: RM 1,800
to RM 20,000 depending on the
type of house.
X
X
CCTV system: RM 2,000 to RM
25,000 depending on the type
of house, type of cameras used
and transmission technology i.e
analogue or digital/IP.
X
X
Perimeter protection using
photo electric beams: RM 1,500
to RM 15,000 depending on the
type of house.
X
X
Automate system: RM 2,000 to
RM 6,000. A good automate
system must come with a good
remote control key fob that
uses code hopping. Its
controller must be installed in a
safe location.
X
X
Motion detector lights: RM 350
to RM 3,500 depending on the
type of house. Usually installed
at the front, side or back of the
house to trigger and turn on
lights upon detection of human
movement.
Information retrieved from ASG Security
Sdn Bhd
>Whether you’re fast asleep at homeor
halfway across theworld trekking the
mountains, thepeaceofmindyouget
fromknowingyour home and assets
areprotected is priceless
Safe
and
secure
homes
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