LETTERS: Being a Bangladeshi university academic, I am happy to chat with Bangladeshis who work in shops, grocery stores and petrol stations.
I try to understand their life, experiences and challenges they face in a foreign land. I learn a lot from their struggles and am humbled by the beauty of their simplicity.
Recently, I went to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) for an overseas trip. I was satisfied with the toilet's cleanliness. I had a chat with a Bangladeshi cleaner standing there with his cleaning tools.
At the toilet, I found the smell of cleaning chemicals unbearable. I also asked why he was standing at the toilet even though everything was tidy.
I was shocked by his response. He told me that he worked a 12-hour shift every day. Excluding the one-hour break, he had to stand the remaining 11 hours.
If the supervisor came and didn't see him standing in the "right" position, he would face financial and other penalties.
He told me that the exposure to strong smells of chemicals for long hours made him nauseous. Worse, it ruined his appetite and affected his eating habits.
He told me about his economic vulnerability, how his parents and younger siblings in Bangladesh were dependent on what he earned in Kuala Lumpur. In terms of alternative employment, he didn't have good prospects. What he told me made me sombre and pensive. I left and headed for the boarding gate.
On board the plane to Tokyo's Haneda airport, I couldn't forget the image of him standing with his cleaning tools and breathing the chemical-infested air at the toilet. I also thought of his family members who were dependent on his earnings.
I became concerned about the long-term impact the smell of the toilet would have on his health and wellbeing.
If the working environment harms his health, reduces his wellbeing or impairs his ability to carry out his family responsibilities, what will happen to his parents, siblings and his future wife and children?
The toilets at Haneda were no less clean than at KLIA, but I didn't see any cleaner standing with cleaning implements and breathing the chemical-infested air. The cleaners there visited the toilets at regular intervals to make sure that they were clean, hygienic and well-maintained.
At airports and other facilities, what we need is cleanliness and hygiene, not the continuous presence of the cleaning staff. It's not wise or ethical to force them to stand in toilets for hours.
DR MD MAHMUDUL HASAN
International Islamic University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times