Review safety in recreation areas

IT is a tragedy when accidents happen to people while they are enjoying themselves with their loved ones. Time and again, we hear and read about accidents happening to people while they were engaged in their recreational or leisure pursuits.

Every year, more people are becoming interested in taking up recreational pursuits due to better locations, good accessibility and improved transportation to places of interest. In fact, at certain times like school holidays, some recreation centres are filled to the brim with visitors.

With Malaysia enjoying a warm climate all year round, parks, recreation and amenity centres will be patronised not only by Malaysians but visitors from other countries as well.

Public safety in parks and recreation areas, which was highlighted in the media recently and commented on by several concerned ministers, is one of the most important things which the Malaysia Park, Amenity and Recreation Management Society (MyParks) would like to share and discuss.

As a professional body that looks into the management of parks, amenity and recreation centres in Malaysia, we would like to congratulate the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister on his efforts in this aspect.

When accidents and deaths occur in parks and recreation areas, especially those that are water-based, naturally there is something not right to begin with. MyParks feels there should not be any finger-pointing at this point in time. It is not a matter of who should take responsibility or that people are not using their common sense and ignore the dangers that are lurking. It is more about informing people about the site. Providing enough guidance, even common ones by local standards, is very important to an outsider, and more so to foreign visitors.

We at MyParks would like to suggest that the Government conduct a study on the needs of the Malaysian public for parks and recreation areas that are well designed and properly managed.

A park, whether it is small urban, rural, regional, state or even a national one, must be designed for a purpose. Qualified personnel are required to manage a park to look after its unique attractions and to attend to the needs of visitors. A trained parks and recreation manager can look at the design aspect, the site’s attractions and landscape, the types of people who will visit and the safety aspects. A park, recreation or amenity area must be planned to suit the intended purpose, sense of place and the needs of the users. While the intention to open up our nation’s landscape for recreation is indeed noble, necessary and timely for our growing population, we must also look at all the factors that should be put in place to ensure safety and effectiveness of the targeted areas.

ASSOC PROF DR KAMARUL BAHRAIN SHUIB

Honorary Secretary,

Malaysia Park, Amenity and Recreation Management Society (MyParks)

Shah Alam