Old-school playground with concrete slides, sand slammed by Malaysian netizens
A playground in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia has drawn criticism from residents of the area and citizens online after photos of the compound were posted on Facebook.
The reason?
The playground is made from concrete and metal, and is filled with sand.
Facebook user Amer Narani uploaded several photos of the playground on Jan 23, calling it “stupid” and criticizing the people involved in the project.
His post has garnered some 900 likes and over 700 comments.
"If children fall from the slide, their heads will be smashed!" Mr Amer wrote.
“Do you think this is a National Service Training Camp (PLKN)?!" he added, referring to the playground’s sand base. One photo also shows a hole dug in the sand at the end of a slide.
It is unclear when the playground was built, or indeed if Mr Amer had ever visited or played at a playground similar to this one in the 1980s and 90s.
In Singapore, playgrounds with plastic fixtures weren’t a common sight until the turn of the century.
All the same, many who commented on Mr Amer's post agreed that the playground was not suitable for children, and that it was built with concrete probably to save on costs.
"I just brought my kids there, and my kids' shirts are now torn and dirty," read one comment.
"This playground is for adults, not for kids," read another remark in jest (we hope).
In response to the complaints, Mayor of Kuala Terengganu Rozali Salleh visited the playground on Jan 24, and said it would be upgraded soon, local news agency TRDI reported.
Mr Rozali said the slide was made from concrete because of environmental factors, such as hot weather and saltwater. Terengganu is by the eastern coast of peninsula Malaysia.
He added that the previous version of the playground – made from plastic fixtures – had often been vandalised.
"We (once) found a folding knife that was used to damage the playground," he said.
Old school “sand-and-concrete” playgrounds have mostly been demolished in Singapore, although at least one of them is preserved in Toa Payoh.
Man, those were the days.
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