Donggongon is due to get some new public toilets, while the Municipal Council is ramping up efforts to check on the cleanliness of the existing amenities in the town.
A spokesman for the agency said the new toilets would be sited near the shophouses off Jalan Taipakkung Donggongon.
“The construction will get underway in the next few months as we have only just completed the tender process,” he said.
He said routine inspections were made of the public toilets around the town, to gauge the level of hygiene, as well as the condition of the fixtures inside.
To this end, he said the Council’s staff had a look at the stalls inside the public toilets at the general market and Buhavan Square earlier this week.
“Everything was in order with the facilities at these locations.
“Nevertheless, our Health Division personnel took the opportunity to provide the attendants whom she met with some pointers on how they could improve the cleanliness of the toilets under their care.”
He said the attendants were encouraged to be more active when it came to maintaining the toilets under their care.
“Those who were tasked with collecting fees from the public were told not to just sit behind the tables outside the toilets collecting payment.
“Our inspector called on them to be more diligent in keeping the floor – both inside and outside the stalls dry throughout the day – as well as ensuring that the bowls were properly flushed and not left in a state which would turn off new users.”
The agency’s staff also urged them to be more responsible in carrying out their duties.
“The attendants were asked to refrain from vacating their posts and locking up the toilets. They should try and find someone to stand in for them temporarily, should they be called away to attend to an emergency.”
He said this would go a long way to ensuring that members of the public were not unduly inconvenienced, if they needed to ease themselves.
Several market-goers and stall-operators contacted the Council after finding the toilets at one side of the building had been locked on a recent Sunday, according to him.
“We spoke with the party responsible for choosing the attendants at the market about what happened.
“We were made to understand that the person tasked with looking after the toilets had absconded from his/ her post due to a matter of some urgency. This individual was unable to find someone to sit in for him/ her which is why he/ she locked the toilets.
“Our officer informed the party in question that this cannot happen again. Our personnel was assured that steps would be taken to keep an eye on the attendants to ensure that the toilets at the general market were manned at all times.”
The spokesman said usage of the public toilets at the general market had become particularly heavy since the ones at the “tamu (weekly market)“ had closed in April.
“The ‘tamu’ and fish market nearby are presently being upgraded, with construction work tentatively expected to be completed by April 2026. New toilets will be built for the ‘tamu’ as part of this refurbishment.”
He advised stall-operators at the “tamu” to make use of the public toilets at the general market and Buhavan Square in the meantime.
There were men’s and women’s toilets on the right and left hand side of the former building, according to him, as well as another set at the latter.
“Our staff graded these toilets this week and gave them each ‘three stars’.”
He said the Council had adopted the Federal Ministry of Local Government and Housing’s “Star Rating (SR)” system when assessing the cleanliness of toilets in public places around the municipality.
“Premises owners are awarded marks for fulfilling the criteria set out in six separate categories as part of the SR score sheet.
“Under the SR system, a grade of five stars – between 91-100 per cent of the total score – indicates that the toilets are “amat bersih (meticulously clean)”, while zero stars – 50 per cent or below – indicates that these facilities are “kotor (dirty)”.
