I agree with the above statement-hook, line and sinker but no disrespect to one of 20th century greatest icons, I would like to proffer a statement of my own which reads like this:
“The greatness of a nation and its people’s civilisation is judged by the cleanliness (or the lack, thereof) of its public toilets”
We are to blame for the state of our toilets, which have made international news. We take painstaking care with our home toilets but neglect the public ones. To check this rot, it’s incumbent upon our Malaysian government to embark on a major campaign to change people’s attitude towards public toilets. Yes, been there, done that; but to no avail. However, we could have done better by teaching our schoolchildren the importance of toilet cleanliness and complement it with major publicity blitz in media.
Still, they will not be effective until we start to make do without squatting toilets with every new building that is built. Squatting toilet is ancient and has no place in modern society. It may be more hygienic for the user since we do not come into direct contact with the surface but sitting toilet can just be as hygienic if only proper aids are in order. Make sure either alcohol-based lotion or paper-based toilet bowl covers is readily available in order for users to apply on the sits prior depositing. In the absence of these, Malaysians resort to squatting on sitting toilet bowl and cause shoe stains to be semi-permanent feature. What will the foreigners think of us, that we don’t even understand basic decorum? For the uninitiated, squatting on sitting toilet bowl is highly dangerous because it will break under the squatter’s weight and leave deep-piercing wounds.
Our toilets are always flooded and the sight of water on the floor is ungainly. Anyone stepping on puddle of water leaves stains all over the toilet. Water should only be available at the urinal and basin, not in the toilet cubicles. Toilet paper is good enough. Recently, we see positive development as far as usage of water sparingly is concerned. If my memory serves me right, toilets in The Gardens do not have tap in the cubicles. It’s a good start. When we are left with no choice and situation becomes desperate enough, we will just use the toilets, sans water. If we are to travel abroad where toilets are usually clean, you will notice they do not have tap in the cubicles. Once incident opened up my eyes on how Malaysians approach toilet usage. A colleague was in the office and the toilet was clean but he chose to use the one in a petrol station instead, because it had tap whereas there was none in the office’s toilet. And to think of it, the toilet at the petrol station was filthier!
There’s another ugly side to Malaysians which we need to eradicate and that is, being selfish. After using toilets, some people do not bother to make sure the bowl is stainless for other users. We have a lot to learn from the Japanese who always have the next users in mind whenever they use public facilities. On my part, I make sure I won’t leave stains behind. If more Malaysians start shedding their selfish behaviour, I am confident thing will start to change for the better. Towards this end, we need to start doing our part.
Graffiti is also another thing which embarrasses us no end. I felt very angry that toilets in KLCC were defaced with graffiti of racist and sexual statements. To me, the culprits were downright uncivilised and had very poor upbringing. To be fair, lately, I don’t notice graffiti in KLCC toilets anymore. Kudos to the management.
Lastly, there is another thing Malaysians need to change and that is to treat car park basement as toilet. I have seen on numerous occasions, soiled baby diapers conveniently thrown to the ground! Another uncivilised behaviour.
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