MALAYSIA: State of the art toilets are unveiled in Kuala Lumpur ahead of expected tourism boom

Record ID: 343720

  • Title: MALAYSIA: State of the art toilets are unveiled in Kuala Lumpur ahead of expected tourism boom
  • Date: 24th December 2006
  • Summary: (L!1) KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (DECEMBER 19-20, 2006) (REUTERS) GUARD ON HORSE TOURISTS TAKING PICTURE OF GUARD AT THE PALACE ENTRANCE "VISIT MALAYSIA" SIGNS ON TOUR BUS WORKERS WORKING ON FLOWER BEDS TOURISTS OUTSIDE OF PALACE GIRLS IN TRADITIONAL COSTUME WALKING IN STREET TRAFFIC IN CITY CENTRE
  • Embargoed: 8th January 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Travel / Tourism
  • Reuters ID: LVA6YG0DHE1NFFBSSYZXBY5IFQX9
  • Story Text: Malaysia unveiled high-tech public toilets as part of a campaign to wash away bad toilet habits ahead of a major tourism drive next year.
    Ushering in a "national loo culture", Malaysia's deputy premier inspected a roadside toilet in a Kuala Lumpur shopping belt and urged the crowd outside to be cleaner while spending a penny.
    "This is a big step to improve Malaysia's image in the eyes of the world," Najib Razak said in a speech prepared for the event, urging Malaysians to learn from the Japanese on clean toilet culture.
    The country is preparing for 2007 Visit Malaysia Year and hopes to draw 20 million visitors next year. The state of Malaysia's public toilets has become a hot-button issue, with tourists saying they were often dirty and lacked basic items such as soap and paper.
    "It can be very messy. People don't seem to know how to use the toilet. Very often you find black spots, footprints on the toilet seats, things like that," said Spencer Kaurin, a 46-year-old Norwegian tourist.
    "So either there has been a monkey inside or something else," he added.
    The Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur will have 23 such high-tech, self-cleaning toilets, Mayor Hakim Borhan said.
    The air-conditioned toilets have an automatic seat cleaner that washes, scrubs and dries the bowl after every use, city authorities said.
    The entire toilet will be cleaned in a similar manner after every five users, it said.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register