Hey big spender, where's the cash to improve our public toilets?

Many complain Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah is throwing taxpayers' hard-earned money away. But if he is bringing genuine relief to people in desperate need, I say let him spend. The problem is, there is no plan in the budget to improve the state of our public toilets.

It's remarkable how a run-of-the-mill public toilet can easily cost a whopping HK$1 million or much more, yet most are not in a state you want to spend a nanosecond in. The problem is, there are no standards or uniformity. I was reminded of this when a reader sent me pictures of this elegantly understated toilet (pictured) in an out-of-the-way village in Kam Tin, Yuen Kong Tsuen. She says it doesn't smell and is always clean - probably because few people ever use it.

If only Tsang would spend more to upgrade our city's public toilets to a similar standard. I'd like one of those in my neighbourhood. Might add a little class and push up property prices.

If you remember, Yuen Kong Tsuen was in the news last year because its village kindergarten almost had to close. They couldn't find a teacher willing to work, full-time, for the princely sum of HK$6,000 a month. The school has managed to stay open, for now, because a very experienced educator was willing to give up a high-paying job in the city to work in the village. What is it about Yuen Kong Tsuen that attracts the best and brightest? Good fung shui, maybe.