A recent sojourn to Thailand again reminded me how much worse off we in Malaysia are in keeping public toilets clean.
Cleanliness and pleasant toilets may be regarded as the benchmark of a nation’s success in its maintenance culture.
Clean, well-planned public toilets reflect on the people’s collective personal hygiene and society’s values. Put another way, toilets reflect our national ‘beingness’.
How is Thailand able to ensure that its public toilets along its Asian Highway 2 route are sweet smelling and spotless?
Even in design, functionality and cost-effectiveness, Thailand has set a clear standard.
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The photos above are from a public toilet in Thailand. This is the typical standard that our northern neighbours are proud of.
Both caretakers and toilet users exercise worthy practices that keep their public toilets clean. They appreciate they have a mutual obligation to keep toilets clean and use them responsibly.
We in Malaysia still have a long way to go to reach that level, despite our other development achievements. The state of public toilets along highways and in malls here leaves much to be desired. The toilets in petrol kiosks are even worse! Even though the media have repeatedly highlighted the poor conditions in public toilets in Malaysia, they are still disappointing.
The owner-operators of these toilets blame the public. The public bemoan poor planning and tardy maintenance.
What will it take for Malaysia to emulate the standards of our closest neighbour, Thailand? If a country with a population twice as large as ours can achieve such success, why can’t we succeed?
Six decades of self-rule have passed. We have resplendent towers and highways. Yet, we have a long way to go to uphold clean toilet practices.
Do we need another decade to change our toilet planning, building, maintenance standards and usage habits? Or is this of no concern to Malaysia?
The hard fact is that the poor state of our toilets reflects on the nation and its values.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
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- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
Malaysia’s toilets always wet and smells, broken toilet bowl cover.
… pengotor mcm mana nak maintain..
Agreed Thailand toilet is very clean compared Singapore. Some area in Singapore going to a toilet need to pay but when you step in the condition is very bad that i rather not describe.
When you pay for the facility, that means is the responsibility is from the care taker to keep it clean at all time and all toilet bowl beside should have a tap incase the flushing system is faulty, next which is very important personal cleanliness, hygiene and responsibility to flush after use as this is a share public toilet.
* For people who don’t flush after use try to do it in your home to see whether you or your family like it?
Our public toilets not so bad. For instance toilets at R and R area along high ways still be considered in good condition. The problem is toilets under local councils.
Toilets at Restaurant, petrol stations and some shopping malls are the worst in state by cleanliness and maintenance. We Malaysians should all help to keep it clean by educating, practising and maintaining cleanliness. Start from home, school, public places etc. if you see someone comes out messing send them back to clean it. The habit of using your feet/shoes on toilet seat and flushing is the most disgusting thing one can do. Yiu are leaving traces of contamination for other users. government should do spot checks and fine the management and users. Till then lets hope parents train their children to start early cleanliness habits.
Malaysian in general are not civic conscious & care about themselves. Change from inside not outside.
Agree. Zero civic minded most of them. Been to many countries. Our toilets r the worse
Visit Petron SS3/29 toilet and comment.Super clean.
Very true. I never saw a dirty toilet on my road trips to Bangkok from Danok border town, all along the highway.
Malaysian public toilets are always WET & SMELLY!
Along the north south highway – cleaners just spray water to clean up & leave the floor WET – no use of detergents to get rid of the STENCH from URINE!
Poor management!
Careless attitude by management !
Poor education !
What era of Malaysia do you live?
Everything starts from home on how do we educate our children. Then cascaded to school.
Special class shall be thought on the right way to clean & maintain the wash roo.
I am a fan of cjean toilet. Everytime I use the toilet , i will lift up the seat because I maybe the nexr one to use and sit in it. Yes keep our toilet clean and I have seen Thai toikets anyway I go are it is in their culture to keep it clean both for hygiene and for tourism.
The reason, our toilet dirty, is we don’t do the proper way of cleaning the toilet. The bowl, the wall , the floor all must have some proper cleaning, so that it will look shining n clean. Using a right detergent and type of brush need to consider as well. Why not, our government go n ask the Thailand people, how they manage having a clean toilet?
Absolutely correct
when my girl was in school the toilets are so horribly dirty and she used to run back once the school bus leaves at home to use the toilet.
She used to get frequent UTIs
When petsonally checking the toilets in the school i nearly vomited.
I personally wrote a letter to the head mistress .
guess what ..she said in the assemply if parents so concern about the toilets being dirty please ask your parents to come and wash the toilets in school.
Since than never bothered .
Should have put it in Facebook!Why is it so difficult to treat a public toilet like the one at home? Unless that is equally filthy?
When I was in Chiengmai for a course and was put up in a hostel,my guide first showed me ( to my chargrin)how to use a toilet!
Maybe there should be a video on toilet cleaning and toilet use made and shown on TV and social media.
This is absolutely true! I’ve been to Thailand and their rest area or tourist attractions area toilet is clean and dry and not foul smelling I was so impressed. This is in comparison to Malaysia. However Malaysia’s R&R toilets have been improving over the years.
How many indonesians, bangladeshis, rohingyas in Thailand?
I was in school in the 60s and all these people were in their own countries! The mess was completely Malaysian!
Also myammars, vietnamese, cambodians, loatians, napalese and central asians. Try going to those countries too you’ll probably see the same as in Malaysia too.
Dont keep blaming others, ours are equally filthy. I mke sure my office toilets are clean and let the responsible person know that we know they are messing the toilets. Eventually everyone adapted clean use practices and it helped to keep office toilets clean and not smelly. Responsibility lies with all from user, cleaner to management. It is not one party’s responsibility. Educate the person who comes out messing the toilet. Learn from Thailand, Singapore and UAE how they monitor and implement. Our KLIA toilets are clean, we have users from worldwide. So stop pointing fingers and do your part to have a cleaner toilets in our country.start from home to public toilets.
Toilets in Malaysia are not that bad, but the types of toilet is also important. For the elderly, those who have medical conditions, with disabilities seat toilets are better than the squat ones.
I also agree Thailand has better toilets.
I think their toilet bowl construction is so much better that a simple flush of water is enough to keep the smell away. Please do suggest that we look at their toilet bowls as well.
After praising one clean toilet in thailand and bad mouthing the whole of malaysia as having dirty toilets, then comes the QR code for readers to donate so this idiot will write more ugly articles about malaysia and us malaysians….
For crying out loud, can you not accept the truth??
Fully agreed..he must be loving Thailand not only the toilet..All mere talks and self proclaim organization that they are the fore front in many social issue..I stop subcribing to Aliran for decades..they plain cohort of typical Penangite mentality… and anti establishment. why toilet not up to their expectation. because of people of those cleaning themselves with tissue..and heavy hand to pull the flush..The picture depicted about how premium Thais toilet are..void value on culture and religious ethic..Standing in the open..while targeting without any enclosure depict the mentality of this hung up article writer.
I am a frequent visitor to all over Thailand especially before PKP. The toilets was laughable (means terrible). Weird design. I don’t know whether to sit or to squat. But i squat cautiously to avoid trip. Usually no bidet but they provide ladle in a pail or concrete tub. Last year I went to Krabi, Pakbara, Hatyai. Nothing change. But last week I went to Hatyai, and stopped at two new PTT petrol stations, the toilet are like Malaysia’s toilet just like the picture in this article. Not as advance like our new mall with japanese bidet. They are clean and dry because no one inside and the cleaner sitting outside. So, to praise too much on Thailand’s and condemn all Malaysia’s public toilets is too much and shameful. Shame on you JD.
The ugly truth of malaysian. You dont want to change the bad habits of malaysian. You want malaysian to be complacent with their bad habits or your bad habits. Why not learning that every body needs to have a habit of cleaning. Not only cleaners that need to do the cleaning. Every one need to do the cleaning. Cleaning their own mess.
Public toilets in the towns, cities and at R & R points along PLUS highways are maintained and managed by the Majlis Perbandaran and/or by PLUS paying contractors to do the jobs. So, if the toilets are dirty it’s the failure of the Majlis Perbandaran and US.
I used to travel to southern Thailand by car in 1997 and 1998. I noticed toilet at their patrol stations is very clean. Now we are in 2024, cleanliness at our petrol station way far behind.
It’s all about education. Best to learn from the Japanese. Their school children are responsible for cleanliness of their classrooms and toilets. For that to happen, we need to start from the teachers. They should be made to clean the toilets in their training colleges/ universities. No more foreign maids to encourage irresponsibility of Malaysians.
Well said Sir
Copy cat and improvise from the best Asean toilets but educate human being is another matter,worst if there is no education at home and school for the kids.
Even the toilets in the malls are dirty. Malaysia should take lesson from Thailand on this.
I dont agree I just came back from Malaysia.and toilets are very clean….
Which toilets? 5 star hotels don’t count!
Parents and schools should be involved – kindergarden too. children should then correct their NOT so hygiene concern parents and grandparents. I had suggested a Toilet usage project in one of the primary schools but headmistress and teachers were not willing. it is all about attitude. Thais are proud of their culture and cleaniliness
Fully agree with you JD on our poor toilet habits. Even in so-called respectable establishments the toilets are in a poor state.
Thailand toilet are mostly dry and clean. Malaysia toilets are constantly wet and dirty.
Wet because of the sprinkler ,which most tourists are not familiar with….
No tourists where I work.There is a bidet hose that you can aim at your a.. and there shouldn’t be a mess if said a.. is on bowl!
It’s obvious why in Malaysia toilets are always wet and why the usage of water to wash and cause puddles of water and water mark stains as you step in and out. And we wonder why in other countries the toilets are dry as majority of not all do not wet the toilets
Use only toilet paper. No water jet to clean off bum. It always wets the floor. Then the system repeats itself. Keep toilet floor dry.Flush toilet after use.