WE NEED A "TOILET REVOLUTION"

A SURVEY by our local media in conjunction with World Toilet Day last year (Nov 19) revealed that the state of our public loos certainly leaves much to be desired.

It was found that most of our public toilets are generally unsatisfactory and need to improve on cleanliness, maintenance and facilities.

According to the survey, some toilets were well maintained and clean while many were below “satisfactory”. However, most were found to be in a deplorable state.

Public toilets at petrol stations were mainly dirty and smelly with the toilet bowls not flushed or clogged with tissue paper and even faeces.

Even toilets in shopping complexes, which people have to pay to use, are not clean and odourless. Toilets in coffee shops and restaurants are not clean either. Due to poor maintenance, locks on some of the toilet doors are not functioning and hooks/hangers inside the cubicles are missing.

In the course of my work, I travel all over Malaysia and I have seen the filthy state of some of the toilets in community halls I visited to participate in meetings or seminars. Maintenance of most public toilets along our highways, except those along the North-South Expressway, is generally poor.

Public toilets along the Karak Highway leading to Gambang, as I have seen, are not clean most of the time.

Many foreign visitors to Malaysia have nice things to say about our country, the food and tourist attractions but they are appalled at the condition of our public toilets.

On the one hand, there is the problem of poor maintenance. There is also the problem of users who have not learnt how to use public toilets properly.

Furthermore, public toilets are not only poorly maintained, they are also frequently vandalised.

Despite all the campaigns for clean toilets over the years, we do not seem to have achieved much.

We need to revolutionise our thinking on the usage and maintenance of toilets. We must dispel the idea that toilets are meant to be dirty and so we need not do anything about it.

On the contrary, we must accept the fact that we have to keep our toilets clean all the time although they are meant for “dirty business”.

It is high time for the public to be educated on how to use toilets in the proper way. In short, we need a toilet revolution to keep our toilets clean all the time! - LLT.

#Shared by: MKR#