World Toilet Day: Looking around

Star: PETALING JAYA: The state of our public toilets may leave much to be desired but on the day set aside as World Toilet Day, we were suddenly flushed with ideas.
It was a day when VIPs, especially local authority officials, were out in full force to do their part. And practically everyone had an idea or two on how to keep public toilets clean.
The first salvo came at the national-level launch in Shah Alam where Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew said the state of toilets in coffeeshops, restaurants and petrol kiosks could only be described as “below average”.
Lau said the campaign – quaintly themed “Care for the next user” – was aimed at encouraging good sanitary practices.
“Good toilet habits are a good reflection of a gracious society. It is important to have clean toilets because it’s hygienic. People who see a dirty toilet will not want to use it,” he said yesterday.
The Government, he added, was holding discussions with various industries to come up with high-tech devices for toilets to make them cleaner.

In Ipoh, a competition will be held next year to determine which toilet is the cleanest, and the prize for the operators will be a free trip to the next World Toilet Summit in Thailand. And those who cannot keep their toilets clean will be punished.
Though the details have yet to be worked out, Perak Urban and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Chang Ko Youn said: “One immediate penalty is to revoke the contracts of operators.”

Over in Kuala Terengganu, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh delivered a verdict of “not satisfactory” after inspecting the cleanliness of several public toilets.
“I will continue with my crusade of inspecting toilets in future as this is in line with Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam), which emphasises cleanliness,” he said.

In Penang, the Penang Municipal Council has allocated RM1mil this year to upgrade its 27 public toilets on the island.
“In view of the expenditure, we may consider awarding cleaning contracts only to professional contractors who have the proper qualifications,” said council president Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib.

In Malacca, city councillors will “adopt” public toilets to ensure they are clean.
Datuk Bandar Zaini Md Nor, the man behind the adoption scheme, has taken the lead by assuming responsibility for the toilets at Taman Bunga Merdeka in Jalan Kota and the one next to the Memorial Museum.

In Johor Baru, Datuk Bandar Datuk Wahid Dahlan said food outlet operators must have clean toilets or risk having their premises closed down.
“Toilet cleanliness is one of the main conditions for licence renewal,” he added.