A DIRTY JOB: Ignoring the dirty water, scavengers wade into Utan Panjang River in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, to collect plastic waste. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

The city's dire need for decent public toilet facilities can be resolved with the enactment of official regulations, a concerned organization says.

"The administration should make a regulation to accelerate the improvement of public facilities," Indonesian Toilet Association (ATI) chairwoman Naning Adiwoso said Monday.

As the city becomes busier, Naning said, more people spend more time in public places, which increases the need for proper public toilets.

"We don't even have toilets at busway shelters. What should passengers do when they need to go?" said Naning, who once said "a nation without good toilets is a nation without culture".

Public Works Ministry residential sanitation director Susmono said his office had already created a standard for public toilets, but admitted there were no laws or regulations to control the maintenance or supervision of the facilities.

"The only law enabling the supervision of public toilets is the 2004 Water Resources Law. Regional administrations have autonomy to create regulations in accordance with people's needs," he said Monday.

Susmono added that the ministry is planning to draft a specific law on sanitation that should be completed within the next three to five years.

Around 20 percent of Indonesia's city populations and 40 percent of those in rural areas do not have access to adequate sanitation, ministry data show.

Typically, public toilets in Jakarta, like those in markets or a public bus stations, are located in dimly lit, damp corners and most of the time are wet, dirty and smelly.

One example is the public toilets at Senen market in Central Jakarta, which charge patrons Rp 500 (US$ 5 cents) for urinating and Rp 1,000 to wash or defecate.

Anggar, the 40-year-old toilet attendant, said there had not been any changes made to the facility since he first started working there 15 years ago.

"The building is old. There's not much we can do to make the toilets better. We clean the floors regularly, and spray the walls with water, but it doesn't help," Anggar told The Jakarta Post.

Many people use the toilet carelessly, not flushing after they urinate, or leaving the taps on, he said.

People's attitudes toward using and maintaining public toilets is another part of the problem, National Planning Agency housing and settlement director Budi Hidayat said.

"Attitudes toward using toilets is one of the main issues we need to address. It's not only about dealing with reckless toilet use, but also giving people a sense that these facilities belong to the public," he said Monday.

Clean and cheap public toilets, however, do exist in Jakarta. Many public toilets at gas stations across the city are clean and free of charge.

The national oil and gas company Pertamina, for example, now provides spotless, white-tiled, odorless and free-of-charge toilets at around 200 stations (among more than 500 gas stations) across the city, as part of a transformation program that was initiated last year.

More and more people have expressed the need for good public toilet facilities, and it is the administration's responsibility to make the call, Naning said.

"It's not a matter of can or cannot. It's a matter of will or will not," she said. (dre)

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