I AM writing about an emerging issue in which all Singaporeans are stakeholders: a decade-long, ongoing deterioration in the condition of our public toilets.
Come on MIW, you mean you can’t pin down on who is responsible for this embarrassing state of affairs in Singapore? Who is responsible for overseeing the state of our national cleanliness and hygiene? Health or environment? Or nobody? If that is so, well PM, why don’t you to come out publicly to say that this is not the government’s concern instead of remaining silent?
The numerous comments past and present in this forum show that citizens are concerned and care. They’re not referring only to obscure malls. I kept reading over and again the deploring state of the toilets of one of our national icons, the National Stadium. Still, nobody seemed bothered. Now it’s creeping into the Esplanades men’s room.
When are we going to review our priorities? Life is not all about budget surpluses and accumulation of sovereign wealth funds. While nobody would argue against fiscal prudence, we need some quality of life too. Do allocate a budget for hygienic conditions please.
STPB, why have you been so mute on this issue as well? You have been so preoccupied with our sky-scrapper backdrop to the F1 circuit; surely the image of the unhygienic state of our public facilities should be equally cause for preoccupation too, if not more.
seen the forever under repair cubicles at Tiong Bahru Plaza toilets? The NEA will say it is not their concern!
buck pass to management of malls, coffeeshops.
then blame it on the outsourced cleaners e.g. claim outsourced to some security firm when complaints come in or recycle bins overflowing and not cleared blame outsourced party, etc.
then easy - blame the users for dirty unhygienic inconsiderate habits.
tell people to call the NEA hotline for everything but not effective.
NEVER accept the blame for inadequate and appalling state of stink pits - lame excuses. wait till the FI and national Day celebrate - people will let go their body waste products everywhere if toilets continue to be inadequate and dirty.
at some malls where they employ young Chinese nationals as toilet cleaners, they closed the doors of some empty cubicles and tilt the door knobs till they indicated "red," so that toilet visitors would think the cubicles are occupied, don't use the cubicles and they stay clean . . .
My vision is: EVERY PUBLIC TOILET JUST LIKE CHANGI AIRPORT'S
It can be done because Singapore is a rich first world country.
Here's how:
Lack of Professional Cleaners
1. Train all toilet cleaners to same standard as Japanese toilet cleaners. Our World Toilet College has such a course. Lim Swee Say paid for the Japanese experts to come and train our trainers.
But the government departments refuses to change their tender specifications to demand quality cleaners. They want lowest prices and cleaning contractors who won contracts give them lowest quality cleaners.
So low pay, low skill and dirty toilets continues.
Even hawker centers , bus depots, SMRT stations, and other buildings owned by government has terrible toilets.
Instead, they spend money doing publicity telling the public to behave properly and push the blame to the users.
A toilet goes through a cycle of Clean-Dirty-Clean. It cannot automatically stays clean by asking users to behave themselves.
It needs a professional cleaner that so far is not there because bureaucrats are unwilling to change their tender documents for cleaning contracts.
If on National Day, PM can say : "Our first world status must come complete with first world public toilets"
Mr Goh Chok Tong said " Let us measure our social graciousness by cleanliness of our public toilet."
I say: " Let us measure our government efficiency by the cleanliness of our public toilets."
"Singapore is known around the world for pioneering clean streets, clean toilets and clean public spaces in Asia."
Japan, South Korea, if not Taiwan, are probably cleaner than Singapore. Could the writer check his facts before going around making a broad generalisation and insulting an entire region.
You talk like a highly educated person. May I ask you one question? Every toilet has got a name board 'if toilet found in unsatisfactory condition pl call................. Why did not you call that number? You can solve problems in a pragmatic way. Not by keeping quiet (when it was time to act) and writing to Forum. Hope you will mature in future.
The responsibility should rest on both the toilet users and the cleaners. If your guest visit your office or homes, do you clean up the mess after the meeting/party/visit is over? Public toilets are used by local as well as foreigners from diverse culture and background. It is the culture that matter most. Most people have the mentality "When you are in Rome, do what the Romans do".
August 02, 2008 Saturday, 03:49 AM
