Sentul Park — Attraction in Kuala Lumpur

It seems like the park's management is actively discouraging its use by the general public. (This is odd. Any other cultural centre or similar park in the world that wants to survive is desperate to attract guests.) I visited on a Tuesday afternoon during opening hours. Outside Sentul Depot a security guard began yelling from afar because I took a photo of its facade. I followed signage directing visitors to a gallery only to be told by a security guard, "gallery finished." He then asked suspiciously whether I had taken photos. I was denied entry to part of the park by a security guard on a bridge near the pavilion, who waved me back toward the KLPAC, which is apparently in a public area where, unsurprisingly, he told me, "no cameras" are allowed. KLPAC is in need of some maintenance and, sadly, doesn't have much to offer during the day - even the (apparently open) restaurant was deserted and the outdoor tables...

The park itself looks beautiful, but sadly, access is extremely restricted. We were only allowed to walk around the parking area and the space directly outside KLPAC. The majority of Sentul Park? Off-limits. A guard came over and told us this was private property meant for "residents only". It’s unclear which residents or how one is even supposed to get permission. No signage that says entry is prohibited, no gates, no information anywhere.

My kids were really looking forward to exploring the greenery, but we were stopped almost immediately. If it’s a private park, fair enough but at least clearly mark it as such. It’s incredibly misleading to present a wide, inviting space with public parking and then have people shooed away for simply walking.

A real letdown. False hope wrapped in pretty trees and colonial buildings. Don't bother name it as Sentul Park then. What a bloody...

It’s a nice park, at least the parts that I got to see. Apparently most of this park is for the exclusive use of residents of the Maple condo. There are no barriers between the public part and the public part, so you always end up getting harassed by the guards telling you that you can’t be there. I emailed YTL about it, and they told me the barriers are “invisible,” whatever that means. They even suggested that YTL should be praised for turning a golf course into a park, which is insane, because turning a golf course into a park is not hard. You’re already mostly there. Secondly, they turned it into a park that the public don’t have access to, so what’s the point? A lot of YTL’s publicity for the properties around the Sentul area puts Sentul Park as the centerpiece, and then it turns out it’s a private property most of us don’t have access to. It’s misleading and...