KUCHING: Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) has recognised outstanding food premises and public toilets under its Clean Food Premises and Clean Attractive and Fragrant BMW Toilet Competition 2025, reinforcing efforts to promote environmental sustainability and public health.
The programme, held at the council training room today, was officiated by its chairman, Councillor Tan Kai, who praised the initiatives as part of MPP’s commitment to improving hygiene standards and supporting the state Post COVID-19 Development Strategy PCDS 2030.
“A clean and healthy environment is essential in achieving sustainable development goals,” he said during the presentation ceremony, noting that the competition reflected the council focus on strengthening environmental sustainability and public awareness.
He added that the initiatives supported MPP’s environmental policy by encouraging better hygiene management and reducing negative impacts from daily operations while also driving active participation from business operators and the community.
A total of 23 Grade B food premises qualified for the competition with 10 named as winners while another ten in the MPP area were upgraded to Grade A this year, a progress Tan described as encouraging and worthy of praise.
The council also recognised winners under the BMW Toilet Competition, which was open to petrol stations, shopping centres and licensed food premises, with only five toilets from each category selected based on the Malaysian Public Toilet Management and Star Rating Guideline used by the Ministry of Local Government Development Malaysia (KPKT).
Tan reminded that clean premises and public toilets were critical for public health, not merely for comfort.
“Unclean food premises can cause food poisoning and infectious diseases while dirty toilets become breeding grounds for germs. Maintaining cleanliness means protecting our community from diseases,” he said.
He emphasised that maintaining hygiene standards also built consumer confidence, boosts sales and strengthened business reputation, adding that compliance with cleanliness regulations was vital for new applications and renewals of business permits.
Tan further noted that clean and comfortable facilities enhanced tourism appeal as they created a positive impression for visitors, helping Padawan to remain a competitive and liveable town.
