Putrajaya takes over toilet-cleaning task from local councils

In a move to ensure 2,600 public toilets in the country are clean, Putrajaya has decided to take over the cleaning job from local councils come 2016.

The takeover is in line with the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672), and the Local Government Transformation Action Plan by the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, in a statement today, said this was to ensure that these toilets remained clean and safe for use at all times.

He said his ministry had set aside at least RM5 million annually to upgrade and build toilets nationwide, and this year, RM26.5 million was distributed to local governments for the repairs and upgrades of public toilets around the country under the My Beautiful Malaysia (My BM) programme.

Despite the funds allocated, he said Malaysia's public toilets as a whole were "still dirty, disgusting and many are even unsafe for use".

"The sinks leak, the toilet bowls broken, the doors of the stalls can't be locked... those are among the nightmare we are dealing with," he said.

Rahman said vandalism of public toilets was widespread with people deliberately making them dirty, scribbling on the walls, stealing equipment and breaking the doors.

He said not only was such behaviour giving Malaysia a bad image among tourists, it was also making locals feel unsafe and question the hygiene of the public toilets.

Rahman said such problems had cost the ministry a lot of money and there were local councils that were unable to cope with the maintenance, causing some public toilets to be neglected.

"This is why the implementation of this new ruling will help us overcome the problem and provide the public with clean toilets.

"This will also help us overcome tourists' bad perception about our public toilets," he said.

Rahman said his ministry would talk to local councils and state authorities on the move, and those that have not adopted Act 672 are advised to set aside funds for the maintenance of public toilets in their respective areas.

He also said the standard operating procedure and guidelines on cleaning public toilets would be reviewed and updated from time to time. – November 22, 2014.