Many people won’t visit recreational park, reveals online poll

KUALA LUMPUR: The year is 2019, but when it comes to the subject of “hauntings”, Malaysians remain a superstitious lot.

NST Online had conducted an online poll. Readers were asked to vote on whether they would visit the recreational park that the government plans to build at the site of the Highland Towers tragedy, which claimed the lives of 48 people on Dec 11, 1993.

More than 60 per cent of the 2,000 people who participated in the online poll, done on Facebook and Twitter, said they would prefer not to visit the new recreational park.

Some gave reasons, such as the location is “haunted” and that it was “bad feng shui”.

@ATMology on Twitter said: “It’s hard to dispel superstition from Asian cultures. 48 people were killed there in 1993. Rumours of roaming spirits aside, that spot has long lost its lustre. Bad feng shui.”

@Suriakl4 said: “Who wants to visit a haunted park?”

However, other Malaysians were more pragmatic. They believed that there is no point in dwelling on the superstitious aspects of the location and that people should focus on the positive.

@RandomHS said: “If done right, and well maintained, it should be beautiful. If there’s an opportunity to turn something around for the better, why not? Take superstition away from the risk factor.”

On Facebook, Francine Cheow supported the government’s plan to turn the site into a park.

“Yes, develop a park just like the Kowloon Walled City site (in Hong Kong). Maybe this can be converted into a memorial site like the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City commemorating the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.”

Adelene Wee, meanwhile, said: “I guess if done right it could also serve as a memorial park as well? Many lives were lost that day. If anything, I feel that the site should be treated with some sensitivity for the deceased and the survivors.”