Man seen urinating near Johor Checkpoint sparks debate among Facebook users

To criticise or not to criticise?

Facebook users found themselves divided by a post that claimed a man was urinating in public near the Johor Checkpoint.

The Jan 2 post in the Malaysia-Singapore Border Crossers Facebook group was captioned: “Just happened this morning…no brain at all.”

It was accompanied by two photos. One showed a grey-haired man with his back to traffic and his hands in front of him, standing near concrete barriers by the roadside. The Sultan Iskandar Building is seen in the background.

The other photo showed a car with a Singapore licence plate, reportedly driven by the elderly man.

Many commenters, especially Malaysians, were angered by the post and chose to condemn the man. 

One Facebook user suggested that the man probably thought he could relieve himself anywhere he liked in Malaysia.

But others were more forgiving and urged empathy for the man. They focused on the fact that he was elderly and could have problems controlling his bladder. They argued that it was probably difficult for him to find a toilet on the Causeway if it was urgent.

One commenter went so far as to ask for the post to be removed, calling it a “useless post”. The person said that only the man knew what the real situation was and not to “simply talk about people”.