They Fixed the Cement. Then They Locked the Basketball Court. This Is Not How Public Projects Should Work.

 

Update on the Golf Garden Playground

Yesterday, a load of construction aggregate was delivered and spread out with a backhoe. This is the standard first step for preparing a solid concrete foundation or slab-on-grade.

Unfortunately, what we observed suggests that the contractor attempted to cut corners. Cementing was carried out directly on grass without aggregate and proper ground compaction. The BRC used were inferior to what had been quoted.

This situation reflects negligence by the supervising engineer, Mr. Jonathan, from Majlis Daerah, who failed to inspect the works on site. The community deserves transparency and accountability—playground facilities must be built to safe and lasting standards, not compromised by shortcuts.

If any of you encounter substandard work by contractors please send photos and location to upload onto social media. With cooperation from all concerned progress in Sabah will be better. We need to leave a better place for the future generation.

                                                                  

Update on the Golf Garden Playground

On 15.7.2026 the playground was cordoned off with warning signs. What is troubling is that the entire area has been closed to the public — even though a major portion is the basketball court, which is regularly used by children and youths in the community.

Why deny access to a safe and much‑needed space when only part of the site is under construction? This blanket closure reflects the same mindset I wrote about in my blog post on Little Napoleons – Three Years On. They are no longer “little.” The culture of overreach and arbitrary decisions has grown unchecked.

https://luqmanmusings.blogspot.com/.../little-napoleons...

Instead of balancing safety with public need, the default response has been to shut everything down. This is not governance; it is control. It punishes the very community the project is supposed to serve.

Public facilities belong to the people. Accountability means ensuring projects are carried out properly, but also that access is not unnecessarily restricted. We must call out these practices before they become the norm.

The playground should be improved, not locked away. The basketball court should remain open for the children who depend on it. And the authorities must remember: they are custodians of public spaces, not gatekeepers of privilege.

There will be no further updates as access is denied.

 The cordon that had restricted access to the entire area since mid-July was taken down on 20 October 2026.

This small playground has become a microcosm of a much larger problem.

We are right to demand what is constitutionally due to Sabah under MA63. The Special Grant, the 40 per cent revenue entitlement, and greater autonomy are legitimate claims. But autonomy that does not translate into better supervision, honest contractors, and competent local authorities will simply give us more money to waste.

The Federal Government can release every ringgit of the RM1.5 billion Special Grant, yet if our own Majlis Daerah officers fail to supervise, contractors cut corners, and civil servants respond to public scrutiny by shutting public spaces instead of fixing the problem, Sabah will continue to lag behind.

True autonomy is not measured only in negotiations and gazetted orders. It is measured by whether a children’s playground is built properly, whether a basketball court remains open for the community that needs it, and whether those entrusted with public funds and public spaces are held accountable when they fail.

We can clamour for more from Putrajaya. We must also clamour for better from ourselves.