In JB – Malaysia’s first ‘leading smart city’ – AI is used to ease jams and detect potholes

JOHOR BAHRU – In a former multipurpose hall atop the Johor Bahru City Council building, a 12m screen displays live feeds from 555 CCTV cameras monitoring every corner of Malaysia’s southern capital.

The Johor Bahru Integrated Operations Control Centre (JBIOCC) in the city centre uses artificial intelligence (AI) to track traffic flow, detect potholes, and even catch litterbugs in real time – technology applications that helped JB pip capital city Kuala Lumpur to become Malaysia’s first “leading smart city” on Oct 28.

JB residents can tap into the system through mobile apps and the council’s digital map to get information from traffic conditions and parking availability, to flood warnings and public toilet cleanliness ratings.

“This command centre helps us in solving three main issues often faced in JB: traffic congestion, security, and city management,” Dr Choo Kok Wah, commander of the JBIOCC, told The Straits Times during a visit on Dec 4.

Dr Choo, who is also the JB City Council’s assistant director of urban transportation, said the control centre’s AI can detect issues through CCTV cameras, long before a complaint is lodged.

With the system, the average time to solve garbage disposal problems is within three hours, while potholes are repaired within 24 hours, he noted.

“Without AI, we may need to wait for the ground maintenance team to detect these issues during inspection or via complaints from the public,” Dr Choo said.

The control centre’s AI can also detect traffic jams early and adjust traffic light timings to hasten the flow of traffic.

“The police would also request to use the system to aid them in solving crimes, like robbery, theft and kidnappings. We can use facial and car plate recognition to find out the whereabouts of the perpetrator or the vehicle he is in,” he said.

JB’s “leading smart city” tag refers to level three on a four-level rating system awarded to municipal councils under the Ministry of Housing and Local Government’s Malaysia Smart City Framework. To achieve this, the council must have implemented technologies that can enhance its administrative capabilities.

In comparison, KL City Hall (DBKL) is at the level one “smart city early adopter” status it attained in 2023, a DBKL official told ST, meaning that the municipal council is still in the planning stages to adopt technology in its day-to-day affairs.

The highest level is “visionary smart city”, where the local authority has completed its smart city plans with more high-tech applications implemented.

The national smart city framework, launched in 2018, was meant to encourage Malaysian cities to use technology to ensure a better quality of life. It includes providing better transport mobility, deterring crime, reducing congestion and pollution, and allowing for greater transparency of government data for the public.

In JB, the main challenge is traffic congestion. More than 300,000 vehicles

pass through the Causeway every day

, blocking key arteries in and out of the city on top of the already high personal vehicle use. The city also faces water pollution in its rivers, with Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi conceding in August that the Tebrau River is among the most polluted in the country. Water supply cuts often happen because of both pollution and ageing pipelines.

To remedy these issues, JBIOCC was built at a cost of more than RM105 million (S$33 million), according to local media reports during its launch in 2023.

However, analysts told ST that the “leading smart city” tag masks a disconnect between technology and real-world impact. While Johor may be ahead in adopting the technologies for its local councils, its infrastructure and enforcement sorely need an update, they said.

Associate Professor Mohd Fadhil Md Din from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said: “Reality check: The rating recognises capability, not outcomes.”

He said residents still face congestion, delayed waste pickups, parking stress and river pollution. “Those are multi-agency, physical infrastructure and governance problems that tech alone can’t fix,” he added.

Dr Shuhana Shamsuddin, president of the Malaysian Urban Design Association, also cautioned local authorities that Malaysia’s smart city plan must come with urban design that is friendly to local residents, climate and culture.

“My main concern is that in Malaysia, we treat smart city as the end, rather than a means to the end,” she told ST.

But “leading smart city” or not, many JB residents told ST that they were unaware of the online tools they can access to make their lives easier. Johor’s flood warning app Saifon had been downloaded merely 250 times despite it being launched in 2023, according to JB Mayor Mohd Haffiz Ahmad on Oct 10.

Mr Derek Tan, 33, a resident in JB’s Permas Jaya suburb, said: “I had no clue that there was an app for floods and e-complaints. I only have the MBJB spot app for parking in the city.”

Ms Azrin Zainal, 30, an entrepreneur, said she prefers using popular navigation apps for her day-to-day commute in JB, such as Waze, rather than relying on the city council’s traffic monitoring system.

Meanwhile, Mr Loo Yong Tat, 37, a Johorean who works in Singapore as a tour executive, said that when he lodged complaints to the authorities online, they did not respond or were slow in doing so.

“These online features and apps aren’t very useful, so I don’t think there is a demand for them, or people don’t know about them,” he said.