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Government Security

Malaysian state launches emergency app

By Xinghui Guo | 29 August 2011

Residents in Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state in terms of gross domestic product, can now alert police to emergencies with a push of a button on their mobile phone. Called ‘MyDistress’, this software is available for public download on smartphones and is provided free until 2012, when users will be charged RM2 (US$0.70) per month.

Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah, Selangor Police Chief, explained that MyDistress uses smartphones’ global position system (GPS) to give police the user’s exact location. Pressing the ‘help’ button will send a distress signal to the nearest district police headquarters and the Selangor state police headquarters. Alerts from MyDistress users are also linked to police patrol cars in the eight highest crime-prone areas where police hope the app can “result in a significant reduction in crime in these hotspots”.

Three days after its launch, the application has had 7781 intallations.

Hamzah said the programme is useful for situations where victims of crime or other emergencies are unable to call for police assistance.

“Anyone who witnesses a crime or needs police assistance in an emergency can do it quickly through the smartphone and this will shorten our response time,” said Hamzah.

“For example, if a lorry driver believes that he’s being tailed by robbers, he can press the button on the smartphone and then hide the phone in his lorry and we will be able to track down his lorry and hopefully arrest the robbers too.”

Hamzah also urged citizens to use the application wisely and in emergency or life-threatening situations. “Do not send out a signal when your vehicle runs out of petrol or due to a tyre puncture, unless of course you are being menaced by criminals.”

MyDistress could eventually lead to nationwide deployment. Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar said police would look into public feedback and response to the application in Selangor before deciding on expanding it.

So far, MyDistress operates on BlackBerry, iPhone, Android and Java smartphones.

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