Public should take ownership of parks

The public must also take good care of park facilities and report any incidents to the authorities. — filepic

While some playgrounds were in good condition, some were filled with graffiti and had broken-down amenities.

And then there were those that were downright dangerous because of the damaged playground equipment – a tragedy waiting to strike.

At that time, playgrounds in Malaysia were generally MS 966:2001-compliant and based on the 1991 International Standard and American Society for Testing and Materials standards.

The good news is new standards for playground safety, namely the MS 966:2017 and MS 2665:2001, was introduced this year.

Unfortunately, it has not been made mandatory and respective councils have the choice to adopt the guidelines or not.

At the recently held playground safety seminar, Public Complaints Bureau director-general Datuk Harjeet Singh said, “Instead of countermeasures after a tragedy, we should take proactive measures to ensure that our playgrounds are safe.”

And there have been tragedies in the past.

An eight-year-old boy was killed when he was crushed by a falling goalpost at a playground in Taman Sri Wangsa, Batu Pahat in 2014.

In 2011, an 11-year-old was electrocuted at the Taman Batu Tiga playground in Shah Alam on March 19, and died.

One proactive measure is for the public to play a role, alongside the authorities.

And as such, the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) introduced its “padang angkat” (adopt a park) concept.

MPKj president Mohd Sayuthi Bakar said the council identified five to six parks and would make the necessary repairs and beautification works before handing it over to the residents associations (RA).

“The selected RAs will be the eyes and ears of the council; they will watch out for vandals, including preventing their children from vandalising the playground facilities.

“Without a sense of belonging, the public will take things provided by the council for granted instead of taking good care of the equipment,” he was quoted saying.

The Selangor State Assembly Special Select Committee for Local Council chairman Dr Idris Ahmad, also suggested a similar programme for residents to have a sense of ownership.

“There should be a campaign to raise awareness, we cannot only depend on enforcement officers.

“The police should also patrol the area and conduct checks at the fields,” he said during a random inspection by the committee on several playgrounds.

At the one in Jalan BDP 2/7B, Bandar Damai Perdana, Balakong, which was newly completed and equipped with amenities in February, there were graffiti on the facilities and some of the signboards were damaged by vandals.

Meanwhile, all the exercise equipment at a park in Taman Desa Baiduri, Cheras, which was completed in May last year, were well-maintained.

Yes, it is the authorities’ responsibility to maintain and repair the amenities, ensure the appropriate ones are selected so that they are not only safe but long-lasting and do not require constant maintenance; as well as nab vandals.

However, the public also have a role to play in taking care of the facilities. They have to be the eyes and ears of authorities by alerting them when facilities are damaged and if they spot vandals in action.

And with the help of apps by the police and councils, you can pinpoint them to the location or include a photo.

This because ultimately, the public are the ones affected, regardless if we use the playground facilities or not, as according to councils, the money used to repair damaged facilities could have been channelled to other projects such as building amenities, road repairs or adding street lights.