One of the most populous states of Malaysia, Johor, now also boasts of playgrounds that are completely unsuitable for children.

The Auditor-General’s 2013 Report on the town councils of Johor Bahru Tengah (MPBJT) and Muar (MPM) found that 87.2 percent, or 34 of the 39 playgrounds under their purview it visited, were in bad shape.

The playgrounds had forlorn-looking slides and swings, overgrown grass and holes in the ground. More than that, adults have simply taken over these spaces that were built from 2011 to 2013. at the cost of RM14 million.

"Intruders have turned the playgrounds into farms, planting mango, coconut and banana trees and also vegetable farms.

"More than that, permanent structures such as car park sheds, stores and stalls have been erected. Some have also become the rubbish dumps and burning areas," the report notes.

It is ironic as the auditor-general report has a picture of a major Johor tourist attraction, Legoland, on the cover of the report released yesterday.

In the audit carried out between April and July 2013, the auditor-general learnt that complaints about the poor conditions of these public playgrounds for children often fell on deaf ears.

The town council officers questioned simply pointed to Southern Waste Management Environment Sdn Bhd (SWM), the company that was, at that time, due to get the contract to take care of these places.

No inventory system

"We face an issue with lack of staff and absence of an inventory system makes it difficult to trace the faulty playground equipment.

"MPBJT also acknowledged that the playgrounds were not cleaned as the last contractor ended its work on April 16, 2013.

"It was discontinued as the contract was being handed over to SWM, but that has also been postponed," MPBJT said in response to the auditor's complaints.

Out of 101 complaints received from 2011 to 2013, MPBJT took action on 59.

Complaints it couldn't resolve included major damages to playground equipment, stolen benches and also social problems such as loiterers and gambling activities at the playgrounds.

The last contractor was paid RM114,673 to upkeep the playground for a year, from April 2012, but had started to slack from February 2013 and was subsequently dropped, the auditor-general reported.

Badminton net poles missing

Similarly, MPBJT also neglected some 196 public sports facilities such as football fields, futsal stadiums, badminton and other games courts.

The audit team's visit to 37 of these "sport facilities" under MPJBT found that 23 of them were unkempt.

The report pointed to “missing badminton net poles, broken fences, tall grass and cracked court floorings, and water puddles..." and added that some of these places were now being used to hang washed clothes to dry.

MPJBT is said to be working hard at rehabilitating the playgrounds now and its officers told the audit team that the council spent RM4 million in 2013 alone to “rescue” these areas.

However, judging from the picture of Legoland on the cover of the audit report, perhaps the auditor-general had other ideas for Johoreans looking for a safe playground for their children.