Documentary to showcase life of latrine cleaners

GEORGE TOWN: Before modern day flush toilets were widely available in Penang, people used to perform their toilet functions at outhouses.
Outhouses were usually a small structure outside with a hole or bucket in the ground where what was excreted stayed put until someone cleared the place.
The job of clearing and cleaning these outhouses fell to the group of workers colloquially known as the night soil men (latrine cleaners).
Teo Heng Kongsi secretary Tan Cheng Keat said these workers were known as such as they usually worked during hours when people were asleep.
He should know as his father was one, describing the working conditions then as "not ideal" since workers have to endure the smell among other difficulties.
Tan said workers have to deal with the thousands of flies, assorted creepy crawlies and rats attracted to such conditions.
"They have to clean and clear the latrines everyday, how can you leave such places uncleaned?," he said in a press conference recently to launch a documentary titled Purge: Documenting the Labours of Penang's Night Soil Workers
Tan said workers will take the excrement cleared from latrines to a holding pond in what is now Jalan Timah before it was pumped into the sea.
"The worse part is during the floods, all those 'things' will float away and spread around the area," he adds.
He was speaking at the launch of the documentary on the workers who were in employment by the government since British times.
The occupation eventually became extinct as modern toilets and sewerage systems were used.
The temple or 'kongsi' which the workers used to meet up at Jalan SP Chelliah has been relocated further along the road there to make way for an affordable housing project.
Documentary producer Lee Cheah Ni said the issue was of cultural and historical significance which charted the development of Penang and of George Town.
The documentary will premier at the Penang Institute tomorrow (Aug 8 at 8pm).
Those who wish to obtain a copy of the 45-minute documentary can do so at https://pgnightsoilworkers.wixsite.com/purge