PAKUAN MEDIA, KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim revealed the reasons behind his government’s decision to allocate a budget of nearly 1 billion ringgit or around Rp. 4.4 trillion to repair school toilets throughout Malaysia.
Anwar made this statement while attending the 55th Malaysian National Teachers’ Day 2026 in Ipoh, Perak, Saturday (16/5/2026).
According to Anwar, the condition of school toilets in Malaysia has been worrying for years due to minimal repairs. Because of this, the government decided to take major steps for the comfort and health of students.
“We spent almost 1 billion ringgit. I thought, why is the state spending 1 billion ringgit to repair toilets? Because the toilets haven’t been repaired for 20 years. But thank God, we have acted,” said Anwar.
He believes that toilet cleanliness is not a trivial matter. For Anwar, good sanitation facilities are an important part of building a culture of discipline and character education in the school environment.
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Anwar said he wanted students to learn to maintain cleanliness from an early age, including understanding the importance of clean toilets for religious needs such as performing ablution.
On several occasions, Anwar is known to often highlight the issue of school toilet cleanliness. In fact, he admitted that he did not mind if the public nicknamed him the “Toilet Prime Minister”.
“If people call me ‘Toilet Prime Minister’, that’s okay, I don’t care. But imagine, our children go to school, the toilets are not maintained,” he said.
Apart from school facilities, Anwar also touched on the importance of moral education in the modern education system. He emphasized that schools and universities must not only focus on producing academically smart students, but must also build a sense of humanity and social awareness.
In his speech, Anwar quoted the contents of the book Excellence Without A Soul by Harry Lewis which criticized the education system at Harvard University.
According to Anwar, Harry Lewis once highlighted how elite campuses have magnificent facilities and intelligent students, but lack sensitivity to poverty and the suffering of people outside the campus environment.
“So it doesn’t touch their conscience, it doesn’t knock on the door of their hearts as humans,” said Anwar.
Therefore, he emphasized that the education system must not fail in forming moral values, empathy and social awareness in the younger generation.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim revealed the reasons behind his government’s decision to allocate a budget of nearly 1 billion ringgit or around Rp. 4.4 trillion to repair school toilets throughout Malaysia.
Also Read: Campus Moral Emergency: Students Record Lecturers in the Toilet, Indonesian Education at Nadir Point
Anwar made this statement while attending the 55th Malaysian National Teachers’ Day 2026 in Ipoh, Perak, Saturday (16/5/2026).
According to Anwar, the condition of school toilets in Malaysia has been worrying for years due to minimal repairs. Because of this, the government decided to take major steps for the comfort and health of students.
“We spent almost 1 billion ringgit. I thought, why is the state spending 1 billion ringgit to repair toilets? Because the toilets haven’t been repaired for 20 years. But thank God, we have acted,” said Anwar.
He believes that toilet cleanliness is not a trivial matter. For Anwar, good sanitation facilities are an important part of building a culture of discipline and character education in the school environment.
Anwar said he wanted students to learn to maintain cleanliness from an early age, including understanding the importance of clean toilets for religious needs such as performing ablution.
On several occasions, Anwar is known to often highlight the issue of school toilet cleanliness. In fact, he admitted that he did not mind if the public nicknamed him the “Toilet Prime Minister”.
“If people call me ‘Toilet Prime Minister’, that’s okay, I don’t care. But imagine, our children go to school, the toilets are not maintained,” he said.
Apart from school facilities, Anwar also touched on the importance of moral education in the modern education system. He emphasized that schools and universities must not only focus on producing academically smart students, but must also build a sense of humanity and social awareness.
In his speech, Anwar quoted the contents of the book Excellence Without A Soul by Harry Lewis which criticized the education system at Harvard University.
According to Anwar, Harry Lewis once highlighted how elite campuses have magnificent facilities and intelligent students, but lack sensitivity to poverty and the suffering of people outside the campus environment.
“So it doesn’t touch their conscience, it doesn’t knock on the door of their hearts as humans,” said Anwar.
Therefore, he emphasized that the education system must not fail in forming moral values, empathy and social awareness in the younger generation.***
