I READ with interest “Most security guards sitting ducks, says MTUC” (Oct 5) and feel that the plight of this group of workers is due more to the rapid progress of modern technology than to a lack of government assistance.

For sometime, banks and similar institutions that hold large amounts of cash and other valuables, have installed CCTVs which give them a degree of security, and which in turn makes them think that they no longer need the services of security guards.

Over reliance on technology, however, has not always benefited those who have embraced it without reservation. With the many negative reports about the financial world recently, people may be excused for thinking that the banks no longer have in store the large amounts they used to and so they don’t need secure protection. Thus they keep security guards as decorative fixtures only.

The story of the company director who was robbed of RM250,000, which he kept hidden under the bed in his apartment because he didn’t trust the banks with it, is telling. This same director was also paying RM7,500 in rental for his apartment, an amount which included a service charge for security.

Incidentally, CCTVs never seem to be working when they are needed. CCTVs are also not easily seen by the public, and by prospective robbers, while a security guard is noticeable to everyone and can thus be a much better deterrent to a robbery then a technological device.

It is evident then, that by not according due status to security guards, all those who needed them have also harmed their own businesses.

While I agree that security guards need better personal protection, this objective will take time to achieve. In the meantime, I would suggest that those security guards who truly love their job find an employer who does not value machines more than people.

Source: The Sun – October 7, 2009