Local Gov Development Minister Nga Kor Ming Promises to Improve Public Toilets Nationwide

With Malaysia’s new government in place, there are many issues to be tackled by the new ministers and some of them are literally dirty ones. It is common knowledge among locals that most public toilets in our country are unhygienic and dirty –– some of them disgustingly so.

Last December, Minister of Transport Anthony Loke carried out a spot check on the KTM Komuter and TBS in KL. Recently, Local Government Development Minister, Nga Kor Ming did the dirty work of carrying out spot checks at the public toilets at Dataran Merdeka in KL.

He posted images to his social media pages of himself trying out the hand soap dispensers and surveying the facilities which included broken asbestos ceilings and broken water pipes.

He mentioned that “The cleanliness of public toilets is important for the country’s image and the well-being of citizens. After completing my tasks in the office, I visited the public toilets at Dataran Merdeka KL tonight. Further action will be taken to improve public toilet facilities throughout the country will be brought up during the meeting of the Ministry of Local Government Development.”

He also said that he hoped that all 155 local authorities throughout the country would create a public toilet cleanliness surveillance unit and execute maintenance works according to schedule to ensure that public toilets throughout Malaysia are always in a clean, functional, and orderly state.

The official Twitter page for the Ministry of Local Government Development also posted images and further images from his visit, sharing that Nga had visited the location after receiving a complaint from a Twitter user about the dismal state of the toilet saying that it was a tourist hotspot but that the stench of the lavatory could be detected from 20 – 30 metres away. The minister also mentioned in his Facebook post that he had received multiple complaints about the toilet.

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Nga also inspected other aspects of the area such as the quality of the field, and the cleanliness of the surroundings. He also promised to meet with the Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah to discuss the maintenance of Dataran Merdeka.

Other Twitter users also aired their grievances on public toilets in Malaysia. One said that some facilities required payment but were extremely dirty on the inside and that the mentality of the citizens and the maintenance culture had to be improved on.

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Other users voiced their disgust at toilets they had visited in Kuantan, even comparing it to a murder scene despite it being in a government building.

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Another pointed out that it was not the fact that the government had failed to provide good facilities, but that the public made the toilets dirty by not flushing and by doing their business outside of the toilet bowl.

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It's safe to say that most of us encounter dirty public toilets now and then. Let’s all hope that the facilities are better maintained in the future and let’s also do our part to keep them clean!

Image credit: facebook.com/ngakormingofficial