We don’t use shared public facilities responsibly

I WELCOME the advent of bidets in public toilets. However, its widespread use must be viewed with a certain amount of circumspection.

Public toilet users vary, coming from different age groups, including senior citizens, as well as from rural, urban and suburban areas.

The correct usage of bidets likewise varies and can often be a tale of woe. Its indiscriminate introduction in shopping malls and other public places and the lack of user-friendly information on its use leave much to be desired.

While we are talking about public toilets, the cleanliness of such facilities in rest areas is, to say the least, deplorable, as thousands of daily commuters will testify.

First, the buildings are dilapidated; secondly, the rest rooms within them, particularly the toilet facilities, are dirty, smelly and poorly ventilated.

Whose responsibility are they, local councils or the highway concessionaires? What is the percentage of their takings they allocate towards regular and diligent maintenance of such rest areas?

Our enthusiasm for shared prosperity should include state-of-the-art facilities to emphasise safety. Look at the unattended elevators, with dozens of users injured. Accidents can be prevented.

Let us take into account the thousands of commuters using our mass transport systems.

The ubiquitous use of smartphones for either talking or texting leads to people obliviously crossing warning guidelines on the floor to stand too close to the edge of train platforms. They’re just accidents waiting to happen.

We bemoan the lack of facilities but when we have them, we do not use them responsibly. Where does the fault lie? Our upbringing, the schools or society?

RS DAVID Petaling Jaya