Stepped-up security soon for S'gor MB's den

The Selangor Menteri Besar’s office, recently jolted by the discovery of a hidden camera, will now face an uphill battle on finding out who the culprit is.

Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim's office apparently does not have a CCTV with a recording function.

According to his aide, although Khalid does have a CCTV in front of his office, the camera is to only provide real-time feed of what is going on outside his office door.

It is also understood that there were CCTV recordings from a few days back and that they were mainly of Khalid alone in his office or meeting his officers and heads of department.

"This is the system we inherited from the previous Barisan Nasional state government.

"During (former MB Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo's) time, this was the system that was in place. We did not change anything when we took over in 2008," said the aide, who declined to be identified.

In fact, nothing much in terms of office equipment was overhauled when the Pakatan-led government took over. "We didn't even change the locks," said the aide.

However, that may all change soon once Khalid's administration reviews their security measures.

"The system should change, from the registering of the engineers who come into his room to conduct repairs, as well as more stringent measures on who gets entry into the room," said the aide.

At the moment, only three people have direct access into his office - Khalid's bodyguard, the menteri besar’s private secretary and the coordinating officer.

The administration of the state secretariat building may also have a set of keys to his office.

Khalid himself announced the discovery of the hidden camera (left) yesterday at a press conference, sending shockwaves and raising questions about the security measures for the menteri besar’s office.

He said he found the device at about 6pm on Tuesday when it made beeping noises because its battery was low.

It is understood that the device is a web monitor, a gadget that enables its users to watch the goings-on through its camera from any location through the Internet - a machine highly popular with parents who want to keep an eye on their babysitters and maids.

This is not the first time PKR leaders have found spying devices in their office.

Just last year, state exco member Rodziah Ismail - also Batu Tiga assemblyperson - found an electronic recording bug in her exco office.

She said she found the hidden microphone in her room after some ‘concerns were raised’. She added that police were still investigating the matter.