Lifeless calathea and osmoxylon plants lie flattened on the ground.
Trapped under the patriotic soles of people who came to see the National Day parade on Aug 31, they had little chance of surviving after years of living under the care of Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
Hours after the parade on Tuesday, City Hall took to Facebook to express their sadness, anger and disappointment. Video clips and photos of Malaysians at the site of the destroyed landscape, some with toddlers in tow, were shared to make their point. The caption screams: "Korang dah kenapa?" ("What is the matter with you?").
But City Hall should have known better. From the looks of how things went on Tuesday, it is not fair to squarely blame the people for the damaged landscape.
Holding such an anticipated mega event that attracted 100,000 people (according to local reports) after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic required proper planning in terms of public access, facilities and infrastructure.
These should be executed perfectly so that our renowned city in the garden remains beautiful while the people get to come together to show their indefatigable spirit of patriotism, especially in the aftermath of Covid-19.
Weeks before Aug 31, proper public footpaths should have been marked and shared on local media, so that people who alighted from the LRT trains knew where to go to watch the parade. Areas that would be closed for VIP parking should have been properly identified, as well as the alternative assembly point for the public to give them access to the celebrated contingents.
If the comments section in the City Hall post has revealed anything, it was the lack of such public facilities that had become the sore point for many.
The overwhelming spirit of patriotism shown through the public attendance in the city that day should serve as a barometer for the authorities on the essential requirements to manage an event of this scale in the future.
Another ugly side to this is the return of status-shaming. This skewed form of social class that formalised "otherness" based on income groups is embraced on social media, separating "we" and "them" just because they can.
On the comments section on City Hall's Facebook post, users are quick to point the "third class" mentality of "other" Malaysians, those who were responsible for the dead plants. Othering people based on their income status has been used to vilify actions that are perceived as socially unacceptable.
In the past, this has been used to explain the behaviour of visitors who destroyed the magnificent Lego structure in a mall in Penang, those who littered while queuing for Billie Eilish's concert at the National Stadium, or the individuals responsible for trash discarded from their apartment units.
Bad attitude has nothing to do with a person's income group. Don't forget that the motorist who was caught on video littering in Johor Baru was speeding in a foreign luxury car.
It should be stressed that the conventional classification of B40, M40 and T20 income brackets are for statistical purposes only and should not be used as a slipshod shortcut to explain appalling behaviour.
We don't want to curb patriotism, but rather provide a proper platform for it to flourish, with calathea and osmoxylon plants thriving happily by our side.