Cleanliness is a virtue which should be an inherent part of our human character. This aspect of our lives should not only be confined to our homes but extend to public places.
For any city, its cleanliness reflects the positive social character of the people living there. A city with admirable traits like cleanliness reflects its inhabitants’ desire for discipline, civic consciousness and pride, which earns the respect of visitors and tourists.
From a health standpoint, living in a clean environment cuts the chances of being afflicted by dangerous diseases. An ecosystem that provides clean water and unpolluted air is crucial for for overall health.
Clean places help check the spread of bacteria and viruses responsible for illness or discomfort.
Hanoi’s mission
Recognising these tangible benefits, Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, has embarked on a mission to spruce up the city.
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To help achieve this goal, it has installed AI-powered surveillance cameras to monitor and deal severely with illegal waste disposal. The authorities have mounted these cameras in several central districts.
The initiative is aimed at improving metropolitan cleanliness in the city. It holds offenders responsible for wrongful waste disposal and for delays in rubbish collection.
Local authorities ensure waste management regulations are complied with through camera footage which identifies the culprits and fines the offenders. The goal is to ensure urban cleanliness.
Entrusted with this task is Hanoi’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DoNRE) which implements standardised guidelines, managed cost structures, and bidding procedures for city-wide environmental sanitation projects.
The implementation in the city’s central districts includes maintaining clear pedestrian walkways and streets, allowing modern sanitation vehicles to operate efficiently.
Enforcement commenced on 14 and 15 January 2026 with images of violations captured by AI cameras. They were sent from the Hanoi Police Command Information Centre to the respective police units for verification and processing.
This procedure reinforces clarity and caution and helps to deter the problem of violations recurring once enforcement officers leave an area.
The surveillance system helps identify issues relating to cleanliness such as prohibited waste disposal, not adhering to the disposal of rubbish at specified times and locations, and not collecting and transporting waste when scheduled.
Violators caught on camera face strict penalties, as outlined in Decree 45 of the Vietnamese government.
Individuals who dump waste on walkways and roads can be fined between 1m and 2m VND ($40–80). For household waste sorting violations, fines range from 500,000 to 1m VND ($20–40).
Camera enforcement enables authorities to conduct regular inspections of sanitation contractors responsible for cleaning highways and elevated roads. This is to prevent the accumulation of waste, dust and stagnant water, ensuring a cleaner and healthier urban environment.
Effective urban management, using technology to enhance environmental responsibility and improve residents’ quality of life is the thrust of Hanoi’s endeavours.
The policies to spruce up the city are forward-looking as they help to ensure cleanliness in the city.
Replicating Hanoi’s success
This policy should be replicated by all cities in Malaysia.
After all, Malaysia’s Housing and Local Government Minister, Nga Kor Ming, recently said that strict new cleanliness policies from 1 January aim to improve public hygiene and raise the country’s standards for Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
Like Hanoi, cities and towns all over Malaysia should install such cameras at strategic places to ensure there is no prohibited waste dumping.
Penalties should also include fines for those providing food for pigeons as noted in places like Pasar Seni and Lucky Gardens in Kuala Lumpur.
The onus is on everyone to be responsible for the cleanliness not only the places where they live but also for all parts of the country. A clean country reflects positively on the character of its people.
Beyond cleanliness enforcement
Besides cleanliness, Kuala Lumpur should also install CCTV cameras at strategic places to catch traffic offenders who make illegal U-turns, park on yellow lines and those that beat the traffic lights even when they are red.
CCTV cameras should also be used to catch cement mixer lorries that drop cement on public roads, which happens in some parts of Kuala Lumpur. Once the cement hardens, motorists find it difficult to drive on those roads.
Those in vehicles behind these lorries and other witnesses should snap photos of these vehicles if they witness them dropping cement on the roads. They should then report the offenders to the authorities.
Local authorities around the world cannot clean their cities alone. The onus is on all residents to be responsible enough to step in and do their part to ensure the cleanliness of the city. After all, a clean city is a healthy and beautiful city.
We all have a moral responsibility to ensure the cleanliness of our cities. Only if our cities are clean would we earn the respect of visitors, especially now in Visit Malaysia 2026.
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That just gimmick and won’t work. If face recognition is accurate for mass public, then no need finger print already. There still have a lot of challenge such as government always need to have latest database of our latest look, cannot wear sunglasses and masks… Please do your research before commenting. Some countries just tend to be gimmick to get famous, that it, and don’t blindly follow.
I do my research before I write. Why don’t you appreciate the good they are doing instead of being on a fault-finding mission.
It doesn’t work. When citizens snap photos for any wrong doing and report to police, later the police ask you to attend court to be a witness. Who has the time?
If you read my article carefully, it mentions Hanoi using AI-powered surveillance cameras to monitor and deal severely with illegal waste disposal. No individuals making complaints.