Reform the way we use public toilets
Published on: Thursday, November 15, 2018
Perlis: Imagine you are in a public place, when you feel the sudden and very urgent call of nature. For many Malaysians, this can be one of their worst nightmares. Our public toilets are notoriously known to be smelly, filthy, wet and disgusting.As such, many would try their best to "hold it in" no matter how much they need to "go" – at least until they get home or to a facility deemed cleaner.What is even more irksome is that some of these public toilets charge 30 sen per use, purportedly to keep it clean for the next user.
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Paying to use public toilets is not the issue. There are many who would gladly pay more, as long as it guaranteed them the use of a clean and comfortable public toilet. However, this is obviously not the case, as can be seen in many public toilets that charge for use.Despite it all, Malaysians are still lucky in the sense that toilets are readily available almost everywhere they go.Many do not spend time thinking about it, but toilets save lives. The ability to properly dispose of human waste curbs the spread of killer diseases.According to reports by WHO and Unicef, around 60 percent of the global population – and that is 4.5 billion people – either have no toilet at home or have one that does not safely manage excreta.
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And sadly, 80 percent of the wastewater generated globally by society flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused.To inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis, the United Nations has set Nov 19 as the World Toilet Day.
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A Bernama survey to several express bus stations here revealed that many of the public toilets were in a state of disrepair but were still in use. Despite that, the operators were still collecting the fee for usage at the entrance.In one of the facilities, there was a pail filled with water placed next to the toilet bowl, intended perhaps for washing purposes, but the cleanliness of the water is doubtful. It was most likely tainted with the urine droplets of previous users.What was even more disgusting was that the liquid spilled on the floor of each toilet cubicle flowed into the next.What if we make the 2018 World Toilet Day the day we start making the cleanliness and hygiene in public toilets a priority?It would not only be the public toilet operators who need to get involved. Users, too, must reform the way they use public toilets.Some users spend longer than necessary in public toilets because they are doodling on the walls and vandalising public property.They place "advertisements" on the walls for matchmaking services as well as illegal loans.Worse, there are also those who use public toilets for indecent activities and as a site for dumping babies.This writer dreams of a clean, dry and pleasant-smelling public toilet with soothing music played in the background. He would not mind paying a bit more for the experience.In conjunction with the World Toilet Day, we should strive to make public toilets as comfortable and clean as our own, at home.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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