‘Bad habits are our enemies because they hinder us from being the person we want to be.’
Joyce Meyer, American author
A few days ago, a friend sent me an interesting short article titled ‘A Lesson from Japan’, which I wish to share with readers.
I think this is a relevant subject worthy of discussion and something from which we Malaysians can take a cue.
The post goes like this. A young Malaysian man who was studying in Japan recently wrote on his Facebook page:
“I was once a guest at a five-star hotel in Japan. One afternoon, while taking a dip in the hotel pool and noticing that no one else was around, I made the foolish decision to urinate in the water.
“To my shock, the crystal-clear pool immediately bloomed into a deep blue cloud around me. It was the result of a urine-indicator dye — a chemical designed to react with urine and reveal, in vivid colour, exactly where the offending act took place.
“There was no escape for me. The alarm worked.
Within moments, hotel staff rushed to the poolside, quickly ushered me out of the water, and informed me that the pool would have to be drained and cleaned. My careless act, they explained, had disrupted the operation of an important facility at the hotel.
“Soon, I received a call from the front desk. When I arrived, the receptionist handed me my passport and informed me that I was required to check out immediately. It was a moment of profound embarrassment — a hard lesson in respecting shared spaces and the high standards expected in places that take pride in their hospitality.
“I left the hotel and went searching for an alternative. But each time I stepped into a new lobby, the reaction was the same. The receptionist would glance at my passport, pause, and say politely, ‘Sorry… you are the one who p… ah… apologies, but we cannot accommodate you.’
“It became clear that I was barred from staying in any hotel with a swimming-pool facility. In desperation, I approached the Malaysian embassy to request assistance. Only then was I advised to stay in a small hotel without a pool — my only remaining option.
“When I finally left Japan, the immigration officer stamped my passport, looked up, and said calmly, ‘I hope you learnt the lesson.’
“In short, the whole of Japan seemed to know that I had urinated in a swimming pool. Yet here at home, to this day, our own government still claims not to know who stole billions of ringgit from our state treasury.”
While the story is supposedly true, the closing paragraph is almost certainly the writer’s way of taking a sharp, sarcastic swipe at the Malaysian government.
By contrasting Japan’s swift and decisive response to a trivial misdeed with Malaysia’s long-standing inability or unwillingness to identify those responsible for massive financial scandals, the writer highlights the absurdity and frustration felt by many Malaysians.
Let me now react to the story. I think that we Malaysians know this only too well. Many will read this today, forget it by tomorrow, and carry on as if nothing matters. We will continue to treat our public spaces, including our hotel pools, with the same careless disregard.
Seriously, I must ask: when will we Malaysians ever learn?
As it is not my intention to link this story to politics, let me stick to the dirty habits of “ugly Malaysians”, a subject which has also been debated regularly in public.
It is true that Malaysia is often lauded for its multicultural warmth and hospitality, yet beneath this pleasant exterior lies a troubling pattern of behaviour that continues to tarnish our public image.
The term “Ugly Malaysians” has long been used to describe a range of poor civic habits that, despite repeated campaigns and public reminders, refuse to fade away.
One of the most persistent issues is littering. From food wrappers tossed out of car windows to rubbish left behind at picnic spots, Malaysians’ disregard for public cleanliness is both widespread and costly.
Public property also suffers. Vandalised toilets, damaged playgrounds, and misused lifts and facilities reflect a worrying lack of respect for shared spaces.
The notion that “someone else will clean or fix it” has become an ingrained mindset, eroding our sense of collective responsibility.
Our driving culture provides another stark example. Queue-cutting at intersections, reckless speeding, indiscriminate double-parking, and the habit of using emergency lanes illegally have made Malaysian roads among the most stressful in the region.
These are not mere irritations; they are dangerous behaviours that put lives at risk daily.
Even in social settings, discipline is often lacking. Queue-cutting at buffets, airports, and government counters has become so common that many no longer bat an eyelid. Such behaviour signals a deeper problem — an erosion of courtesy and an unwillingness to respect the rights and time of others.
These “ugly Malaysian” habits persist because of weak enforcement, poor civic education, and the social acceptance of “small” misbehaviour, which we think we can overlook.
However, if Malaysia is serious about becoming a cleaner, more disciplined, and more respectful society, the change must begin with us — ordinary Malaysians choosing responsibility over convenience and courtesy over carelessness.
Public spaces belong to all of us, and the way we treat them speaks volumes about the kind of nation we aspire to be.
• Francis Paul Siah is a veteran Sarawak editor and currently heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS).
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
