By Joy Fang

HE CALLS himself "Toiletman", an evangelist who is "spreading the gospel of toilets" to the world.

Mr Jack Sim, who founded the Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS), is proud of the label.

"There's Batman and Superman, so why not Toiletman?" quipped the 51-year-old.

"Toilets are important to everyone.

But everyone is so shy and doesn't want to talk about it." He added: "When you don't talk, you don't improve."

For his efforts to promote better toilets and sanitation, the businessman in the construction and real-estate industry was the only Singaporean to be named by Time magazine as one of their 30 Heroes of the Environment in September.

Mr Sim forked out $30,000 to set up RAS 10 years ago after he read in the newspapers about then-prime minister Goh Chok Tong's suggestion to use clean public toilets as a marker of social graciousness.

He went on to set up the World Toilet Organization (WTO) in 2001, and started the World Toilet College to train workers as professional toilet cleaners and fixers.

Starting out with 15 members, WTO is now a global organisation with 151 members in 53 countries. Its aim is to improve toilet conditions worldwide.

He worked with the National Environment Agency to change the Code of Practice for Environmental Health in 2005.

It now calls for new buildings to have double the number of cubicles for women, since men have urinals.

In the same year, he also started the Happy Toilet School Education Programme. It grooms young Singaporeans to be more gracious toilet users.

To sustain his toilet mission, he draws a salary from his own building-materials company, and rent from four shophouses in Little India.

As Mr Sim sees it, life is not just about money. "The currency of life is time, and time has its limitations," he said.

"What do I want to do with my life before I die" I want to live it meaningfully, to make other people happier," he added.

Meanwhile, his wife, Ms Julie Teng, 47, a part-time real-estate agent, takes her label of "Mrs Toilet" with good humour.

"She said I should just do whatever makes me happy," Mr Sim said, adding that she has been very supportive. They have four children, ranging from 11 to 16.

While he declines to rate Singaporeans' toilet etiquette, he believes in a simple axiom: "When the toilet respects the person, they will respect the toilet."

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