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SINGAPORE: After a recent visit to a Johor Bahru (JB) mall, an online user compared its toilet conditions to his experience back in 2017—and claimed nothing had improved.

“The last time I went to JB in 2017, I was amazed by how dirty the toilets were at JB City Square Mall and how there was no toilet paper,” he wrote. “If you [defecate], get ready to use water to wash.” He then added that the situation remains unchanged.

“Totally no improvement and no changes after eight years,” he claimed.

However, some commenters challenged his view. “Are you sure?” one asked. “Their shopping centre toilets are tip-top.” Another said, “I wouldn’t call it squeaky clean, but it’s in acceptable condition… considering it’s an old mall.”

Others defended JB mall toilets, noting their full-length partitions offer more privacy than those in Singapore. “90% of their toilets have floor-to-ceiling stalls,” one commenter wrote. “In Singapore? I have to keep looking up to check.”

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Calling it a “convenient pitstop,” a fourth argued that City Square Mall gets a lot of foot traffic, which could cause the toilets not to be so clean. “[But] to be fair, Paradigm, Mid-Valley, and Aeon Tebrau have very clean, well-maintained toilets,” he added.

One user even joked, “You go to JB to eat and shop, not (defecate).”

Still, a handful questioned why the writer was bothered by using water to wash after using the toilet. A few even argued that toilet paper alone is less hygienic.
According to the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research, using toilet paper prevents direct contact with faeces, but so does washing with water. In fact, water cleans more effectively, removing residual traces of faeces and urine. Many prefer a combination of both—water for washing and toilet paper for drying

See also: Why do people hose down toilets? Singaporeans weigh in on a curious habit

Featured image by Unsplash / filmbetrachterin (for illustration purposes only)