The safety issue in the welfare matrix of the urban village community of Alor Setar City, Kedah Darul Aman

Safety is an important issue in both urban and rural areas as it is an important indicator in gauging the level of wellbeing. This study takes a close look at safety as a measure of well-being among the urban villagers of Kampung Berjaya and Kampung Mempelam, Alor Setar, Kedah. A total of 132 respondents constituting 30% of the total household heads was randomly selected and interviewed . Respondents were administered with questionnaires pertaining to their perception of natural disasters, of incidents that could threaten tcommunity safety , and of the existing safety level in the village.The results obtained respectively were perceived threats of floods; community wellbeing deemed unsafe because of the occurances of burglary and theft; and respondents in Kampung Mempelam expressed feeling safer than those of Kampung Berjaya. In conclusion, these perceptions of the local members of the urban village community point to the fact that they were still in need of systematic attention from the relevant authorities.