How About Halal Toilets Too?

The boom in oil prices has brought unprecedented wealth to the Arab States and Singapore has done well to court the increasingly lucrative Muslim dollar by having Halal-everything. Now how about making a little adjustment to our humble latrines too?

A Muslim tourist arriving in Singapore would be spoilt for choice. And no, we’re not talking about Halal food.

Look around you today and you will be hard-pressed not to spot scores of Halal products all over the shelves. Incidentally, food items are not the only ones taking up the ominous green label. Today, Halal Chinese medicine, Halal ointment and even Halal ice can be found in your friendly neighbourhood supermarket. Hilariously, there is also a manufacturer right here in Singapore selling Halal-certified carbon dioxide.

But products are not the only ones jumping onboard the Halal bandwagon. Services too have realised the value of catering to the rising affluence of the Muslim market. Renowned hotel chains like the Grand Hyatt now have exclusive Halal kitchens and restaurants. Other established hotels are also retrofitting the ceilings of their so called “Muslim-friendly” rooms with the Kiblah direction pointer - a marker that points in the direction of Mecca to facilitate Muslims who would like to do their prayers in the room.

Commercial and Government entities in Singapore have gone much the extra mile indeed. But while a lot has been done to appease the Muslim platter, a crucial necessity has yet been addressed-our humble toilets.

Cleanliness is a major part of a Muslim’s faith. Islam, being a way of life, prescribes in detail the level of hygiene expected out of every Muslim. This includes the compulsory use of water for purification purposes.

Unfortunately most of our public toilets, including the ones with high tourist densities, would only have a roll of toilet paper as its sole hygiene amenity. For Muslims, this signifies an insufficient mode of purification. On top of the daily roll, water is central to the Muslim concept of hygiene even if it’s only for “small” business – to borrow a local lingo.

This is a concept that may still be alien to the majority of building operators here. But while we continue to be indifferent to these seemingly trivial needs, the lucrative Muslim dollar may be giving us a slip. I personally know of an online Muslim friend who has chosen Malaysia over Singapore for his honeymoon destination due to “concerns over prayer and sanitary facilities in public areas”.

In aspiring to be a major tourist destination, hotels, airports and tourist hotspots here should consider enhancing their sanitary facilities to match that of a truly international standard.

When I was at the airports in London and Los Angeles, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that not only do the lavatories there have amenities such as running water in every cubicle; they also provide a clearly-marked ablution area for Muslims who would like to perform the obligatory cleaning before praying. Even the urinals have a running tap each for hygiene purposes. Incidentally, adjustments like these would also help to improve our local men’s standard of hygiene, most whom would usually just zip up after performing their deed at the urinals!

Singapore has done well to make itself a choice tourist destination to people from all over the world. But it cannot truly call itself a global city if the state’s latrines are inimical towards a quarter of the world’s population.