No 'BMW-standard' toilet, no licence, says JB city council
The Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) introduced a new condition requiring all 7,435-food premises, including cafes and restaurants in its council's jurisdiction, to achieve at least a four-star toilet cleanliness rating under its Bersih, Menawan dan Wangi (clean, attractive, and fragrant) standard to qualify for business licence renewal starting this year.
Raising the bar on toilet hygiene, the standard, cheekily abbreviated as BMW, shares its initials with the German luxury marque — but now represents premium toilet standards, not high-end cars.
The initiative was first coined last year in Putrajaya by the Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, under its BMW-i smart toilets initiative.
The smart public toilets incorporated advanced features such as built-in automatic bidets, automatic floor-cleaning machines, automatic doors for people with disabilities (PWD) toilets, and automated customer feedback systems.
MBJB mayor Datuk Mohd Haffiz Ahmad said the ruling, approved by the council's administration, is part of an initiative to raise public hygiene standards, in line with national toilet rating guidelines.
"The move signals a strict no-excuse approach to public cleanliness and hygiene, placing toilet conditions front and centre in the food industry's compliance requirements.
"This will apply to all food outlets, 24-hour or otherwise. If the toilet fails to meet BMW criteria, the business licence will not be renewed or may be suspended until compliance is achieved," he said after MBJB's full council meeting at Menara MBJB today.
He added that the council's licensing department will distribute self-audit BMW toilet checklists for operators to complete before official inspections.
Outlets failing the assessment must carry out cleaning or upgrades to meet the required standard before renewal applications can proceed.
"Enforcement action under existing by-laws will also apply where necessary.
"We want a cleaner city, and business owners must take responsibility for hygiene inside and outside their premises," Haffiz said.
The move signals MBJB's stricter approach to enforcing sanitary standards in public-facing businesses, amid increasing scrutiny of food safety and public hygiene.
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