GEORGE TOWN: Maintaining the cleanliness of public toilets is everyone’s responsibility, said Tourism, Arts and Culture Deputy Minister Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik (pix).
He said Malaysians should not depend entirely on the local authorities and cleaning contractors to do the job, but must also do their part in keeping toilets as well as their surroundings clean.
“Next year is Visit Malaysia Year 2020 and we are targeting 37 million tourist arrivals. As such Malaysians should help create a good first impression by keeping our country clean,“ he told reporters after launching a programme in conjunction with the National Day celebration for Balik Pulau parliamentary constituency, near here last night.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had on Aug 13 commented about the dirty and smelly state of public toilets in Malaysia.
Mahathir said he felt embarrassed when he inspected public toilets as they were a reflection of the public’s attitude and lack of civic consciousness.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Bakhtiar, who is also Balik Pulau MP said the Clean and Beautiful Malaysia Voluntourism programme run by ministry encourages Malaysians to help out with cleaning and beautifying activities on a volunteer basis.
“The ministry has organised several events to inculcate the importance of cleanliness among the public where they should also be responsible for the cleanliness of popular tourist destinations such as beaches, hiking trails, playgrounds and parks,“ he added. — Bernama
