KUCHING: After more than the 30 years, the public toilet at Bintawa Hawker Centre is finally getting an upgrade.
Kuching South City Council (MBKS) mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng conducted a site visit there yesterday to ensure that the project was going on well.
The project, which costs around RM 187,000, is expected to be completed within the next twelve weeks.
New Sarawak Tribune spoke to hawkers and the general public in the area to share their views on the upgrade.
Many spoke on the overall cleanliness of the facility, saying that they hoped the water pipes could be fixed as it caused water to overflow.
A few also spoke on not being able to flush the toilets, which emitted a foul smell, making it uncomfortable for the public to use.
Phoebe, 23, student
‘I am happy that it is being upgraded and I hope that the toilet will be clean. Before this, there were many problems such as water overflowing due to the water pipe that could not be turned off. Besides that, the toilets also couldn’t be flushed, which made the facility dirty.’
Rapiah Ja’al, 37, hawker
‘I am delighted to hear they are upgrading the public toilets and hopefully these will be clean because this is what we have been requesting for a while now. The toilets previously were too dirty and could not be flushed, so it smelled awful in there.’
Kong Kiaw, 57, hawker
‘This is very good news to me and I hope that the pipes will work well this time around. The plumbing system was the main problem for me because it would overflow and people had to go through the water that smelled awful.’
Mohd Irzlan Ismail, 25, hawker
‘I am happy it will be upgraded and I hope that it will be much cleaner than before. Due to the water pipes causing problems, the toilets will be flooded with water and it was very dirty.’
Mohd Zullkernean, 39, public servant
‘Yes, I am happy to hear about the upgrade works and hopefully the cleanliness will be maintained once it is finished. I hope that the upgrade will also add more stalls. The water pipes have also been a problem and hope they will sort that out as well so that it would not be too dirty.’
Gravesly, 34, public servant
‘I am happy about the upgrade and hopefully it will be convenient for the people in the area. The important thing is cleanliness and that the water pipes could be fixed. Previously, it was dirty and a bit uncomfortable for the public to use.