A/HRC/42/47/Add.2 was 0.50 ringgit per visit and in the same mall on the second and third floors, the fee was 0.30 ringgit. There also exist exclusive toilets, which cost 3.50 ringgit. One person that the Special Rapporteur met rhetorically commented: “the stool is the same whether you go to a 0.30 cent toilet or 3.50 cent toilet. We do the same business inside the toilets”. For those who are economically vulnerable, such prices are unaffordable, which means that they are unable to access those public toilets. Water and sanitation facilities and services must be physically accessible and affordable for everyone within or in the immediate vicinity of all spheres of their lives, particularly at home, but also in educational institutions, the workplace, prisons and public places (see A/HRC/42/47). C. Water quality 69. The water used by households and individuals for domestic and personal uses must be of adequate quality to protect their health.9 Pollution of water by any means, including by agriculture, industry and wastewater, must, therefore, be prevented. This is especially important since untreated water is often used by rural communities and several micropollutants are often not sufficiently removed by conventional water treatment plants. In Malaysia, studies conducted over time in and around the Nerus River in Terengganu, for example, have shown a correlation between increased population density and industry along the river and reduced water quality. 10 With the advent of increasingly complex contaminant profiles, the challenge will be to deliver water to urban populations with an acceptable level of hazardous substances. 70. The Ministry of Health regulates the quality of drinking water for both Peninsular and East Malaysia. The Ministry collects and analyses 189,000 samples each year across the country, covering most of the urban and rural piped water facilities. Surveillance of the quality of drinking water is more limited in some rural communities, including surveillance of the so-called alternative supplies and the water supply in the most remote areas. During the interactions with actors in this field, the Special Rapporteur noted that the coordination of drinking water surveillance undertaken by the Ministry of Health and drinking water control by water providers should be strengthened. The Ministry needs to have a more active role in auditing and interpreting the results of the monitoring by providers so that a larger number of parameters can be tested and any violations of the standards can be properly resolved. Moreover, considering the impacts on water quality of pollutants in the water sources, especially from development projects, a targeted monitoring, for example of pesticides, is urgently required. 71. According to the information received, the national guidelines for the quality of drinking water are based on the second edition of the World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. However, the national guidelines have been revised on the basis of the fourth edition of those Guidelines, with plans for their adoption later this year. The Special Rapporteur reiterates the vital importance of this update and the need to have, as soon as possible, properly adjusted parameters and limits for water quality monitoring, as well the frequency thereof, in accordance with the most up-to-date international guidance and scientific evidence. V. Conclusion and recommendations 72. During his two-week visit, the Special Rapporteur examined access to drinking water and sanitation services for those living in urban and rural areas of Malaysia. In particular, he observed the various layers of inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation services for groups in vulnerable situations. “Leaving no one behind” in access to those services is a matter of great concern from a human rights perspective. In order to address disparities in access to water and sanitation, the 9 10 16 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 15, para. 12 (b). H.M.A. Alssgeer and others, “GIS-based analysis of water quality deterioration in the Nerus River, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia”, Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 112 (2018), pp. 334–343.