JOHOR BARU: Clearer signage and directions to public toilets should be placed near the immigration clearance at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI) Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex to help those who need to answer nature’s call, says a tourism expert.
Malaysia Tour Guides Association president Jimmy Leong said this would help prevent incidents like the one recently in which a woman was caught urinating behind a closed counter at BSI.
“This is a human issue. No one, especially a woman, would want to urinate openly, even if it is behind a counter, as it is degrading for such a person.
“Unless she had no choice but to relieve herself – she could have been holding it for a long period, which is also harmful to the person’s health,” he said yesterday.
Leong, who is also president of the Johor Tourist Guides Association, said the authorities should look at the matter seriously and make improvements to public amenities at BSI.
He said that currently, about 250,000 people travel between Malaysia and Singapore via the Causeway daily, and there is a high possibility that these travellers would need to use the washroom urgently when crossing the border.
Leong also said that unlike BSI, portable toilets were available for travellers at the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB), which connects to the Second Link in Iskandar Puteri.
“If the traveller is an elderly person or someone with a weak bladder, it will be hard for them to hold on, especially if they had been stuck in (traffic) congestion at the Causeway for long hours.
“It is difficult to put portable toilets near the immigration clearance at BSI as the area has limited space, and putting them there would make the space even narrower.
“There are public toilets available after the immigration checkpoints at BSI, but there should be clearer signs and directions to make it easier for travellers,” he said.
Earlier, the Johor Immigration Department said it would investigate after a video of a woman caught urinating behind a closed counter at BSI went viral on social media.
State director Baharuddin Tahir said the investigation would help determine when the incident occurred, as the department had yet to receive any report.
“It is wrong to relieve yourself publicly, especially since BSI is a highly secured government building.
“If the person could no longer hold her bladder, then she should have asked for assistance from authorised personnel at BSI to go to the public toilet,” he said.
