A cyclist who was part of an NGO awareness campaign team en route to Kuala Lumpur was arrested today in Kedah on the second day of a 16-day trip.

ride for change jerit cyclist arrested 041208 L Ruben was arrested by the police at the village of Merbau Pulas, about 20km from Kulim, Kedah, for distributing leaflets to onlookers. He has been released on police bail said Chon Kai, the event’s northern region coordinator.

Ruben was with 49 other cyclists who kicked off their first leg of their tour in Alor Star yesterday, after which they proceeded to Gurun. They later stopped for the night in Sungai Lalang.

This morning, the team cycled to Sungai Petani, then Kuala Kertil before stopping in Padang Serai in Kedah this evening.

However, at 5.15pm, Ruben was stopped by the police for handing out leaflets on the campaign.

Chon said Ruben was then taken to the Kulim district police headquarters for questioning and later released after his statement was recorded.

Ride for change

The event is organised by grassroots coalition Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit), which decided to ‘ride for change’ by cycling across the country.

jerit bicycle event nation wide ride for change to parliament 211108 02 The ‘People - The force of change’ campaign is Jerit’s attempt to raise awareness on issues such as food shortages, environmental problems, draconian laws and the current financial crisis.

Apart from those in Alor Star, another team of 50 cyclists are due to begin their long journey to Kuala Lumpur north from Skudai, Johor, on Saturday.

However, the third team from Kota Bahru in Kelantan had to abandon the trip due to the heavy monsoon rains and flooding.

Both teams plan to reach Kuala Lumpur next Thursday and converge at the Parliament building.

The group will then hand over their memorandum of demands to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.