Kuala Lampur, Jan. 18 -- When I read about the public urination cases in Singapore's MRT stations (three in about a week!), the one thing that immediately came to mind from my university days was the broken windows theory.

TLDR: This theory states that visible signs of neglect or defiance or just bad behaviour within an environment can and will promote further anti-social and even criminal behaviour.

The idea is that if a window in a building is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares, leading to more windows being broken, and eventually, more serious crimes.

I recall reading a story about former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani telling his team about a burnt car in a back alley somewhere on whate...