KUALA LUMPUR: The days of foul-smelling public toilets in Malaysia, hopefully, are numbered.

Come Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will announce the winners of the first public toilet design competition, which aims to encourage Malaysians to discard bad hygiene habits and give due respect to the common loo.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew said there would be nine winners in the competition – three each for three categories of toilets – stand-alone public toilets, toilets in eatery shops and toilets in shopping centres.

CREATIVE IDEAS: Lau showing some of the entries submitted for the public toilet design competition at his office in Kuala Lumpur recently.

The competition, jointly organised by the ministry and the Works Ministry, offers for each category a first prize of RM5,000, followed by RM3,000 and RM1,000 for the second and third prizes respectively.

“The competition, which is the idea of the Deputy Prime Minister, attracted 94 entries. Of these, 41 were short-listed,” said Lau, who is in charge of his ministry’s national clean toilet campaign.

“Many of the entries are impressive. It shows the people support our move to accord proper status to public toilets in the country,” he added.

Lau said among the steps to be taken to accord proper status was to get the people to use toilets with care and keep them clean for the next user.

Good and practical design, quality construction, proper maintenance and enforcement were also equally important, he added.

Malaysian Institute of Architects deputy president Lee Chor Wah, one of the judges in the competition, described the designs and ideas in some of the entries as “a new and totally different experience, very encouraging and good.”

Nevertheless, he said, good and clean public toilets were more than just designs, citing other factors like good toilet manners, maintenance and enforcement.

Najib, who chairs the Cabinet committee on cleanliness, will also launch the Quality Restroom Association of Malaysia when he announces the winners at the Berjaya Times Square here.

A one-day exhibition on toilets will also be held in conjunction with the event, where the public can view a showcase of the latest development in toilet technology.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting as well as other ministers and state executive councillors nationwide will be among the event's 500 guests.

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