Jerit cyclists probed for illegal procession in Rawang

A team of more than 50 cyclists of Jerit's ‘Ride for Change' campaign from Kedah was stopped by the police at a roadblock in Rawang town in Selangor at about 5pm today.

The police at first asked four of the organisers and seven cyclists who were on an accompanying bus to head towards the state for questioning, said a Jerit co-ordinator.

However in a later development, all the cyclists were taken to the Rawang police station.

Rawang state assemblyperson Gan Pei Nie and Sungai Siput member of parliament Dr D Jeyakumar were also present at the station to provide assistance.

By 10.30pm it was learnt that a total of 57 people were questioned by the Rawang police, including Jeyakumar and Gan.

Of these, 28 were considered to be children under the age of 18 and released. As at 10.45pm, the police were still waiting for the arrival of the parents of these children - all of whom were cyclists - to collect them.

The remaining 29, including Jeyakumar and Gan, were investigated under the Police Act for illegal procession and the Child Act for using children in their campaign.

"This gives a very bad image for the police. This is not a procession," Jeyakumar told reporters.

"Instead of fighting crime, they are interrupting our campaign. They should be doing something more productive," he added. He also confirmed that he was asked to give a statement to the police.

Supporters outside station

Outside, a group of 60 people - including several disabled persons - had gathered opposite the Rawang police station to support the cyclists.

By 10pm, this had swelled to about 100 people, and later to 150. A team of Federal Reserve Unit was on standby at the station.

However reinforcement in the form of additional FRU personnel and water cannon truck arrived at about 11pm.

This at first did not dampen the spirit of the crowd which decided to stay put. But a slight drizzle forced the boisterous crowd to slowly disperse, leaving behind about 50 of them who continued to brave a heavy rain as at 11.30pm.

More later returned to continue the vigil as the rain subsided at about 12 midnight.

Gan meanwhile said that the Gombak police - under which the Rawang police district falls - had given their approval for the cyclists.

"We sent a letter to the Gombak district police chief last week to inform of our event and to seek the assistance of the traffic police," she told reporters.

"They responded by saying that they will treat the cyclists just like any normal road users and will let us proceed. They added they will have police officers to monitor the event," she added.

She also said that her aides had contacted the Gombak police chief this morning and were told that the cyclists can proceed. He however refused to issue a written permission, she added.

Kajang police relented

While there was no official statement from the police on what's to happen next, an alert put out by Jerit close to midnight stated that 26 under-aged (below 18) cyclists were to be taken to the welfare department.

The alert also stated that those who were being investigated would be held overnight in the police cell.

Meanwhile in Kajang, the police there relented and allowed a second team of 28 cyclists under the age of 18 to continue the 'Ride for Change' campaign, instead of being required to provide information.

The police had initially instructed the group - who had begun their journey in Johor - to report to the Bangi police station in the afternoon.

According to the organiser Oppressed Peoples' Network (Jerit), the police had wanted to check the details of the cyclists and to ascertain if their parents have given consent for them to participate in the event. Most of the riders are aged between 16 and 17 years.

Final leg of the tour

The cyclists were on the final leg of their 16-day nationwide tour and their campaign has seen much drama over the days with arrests and roadblocks. Several bicycles were torched by arsonists.

According to human rights group Suaram, the cyclists from the south had started their journey from Dunedin estate in Bangi, Selangor at about 9.30am. They were cornered by the police at the Bangi Lama estate at about 11.30am.

Suaram condemned the police action and demanded that the cyclists be allowed to continue their ride.

Jerit secretariat member K Bawani, when contacted, said the police waited at the entrance of the estate, being unable to enter private property.

She said a police van had followed the cyclists all the way from Johor, while 14 other police vehicles 'escorted' the riders when they entered Semenyih yesterday.

"They (police) were following us all the way but they did not carry out arrests until now... we are negotiating with the police and have asked them to allow the riders to have lunch before going to the station," she said at about 1pm.

Riders allowed to have lunch

Jerit coordinator S Arutchelvan said the police then retreated and allowed the cyclists to have lunch, while waiting for their parents to arrive.

Lawyers had been deployed to Bangi Lama estate by Jerit.

At 3pm, Bar Council Human Rights committee chairperson Edmund Bon told Malaysiakini that he suspected that the authorities were planning to charge those involved in the 'Ride for Change' campaign under the Child Act, for involving those below the age of 18.

Bon also said the police had insisted that they have not arrested these riders.

"The police said they want to take the children to the station to investigate whether they had permission from their parents to join the campaign and why they had joined in the expedition," he said.

"First they said it was an arrest, then said it was not an arrest and they just want to take their details and check if they have permission... but if it is not an arrest then, the cyclists are not obliged to go the police station."

Two teams of cyclists had begun the journey simultaneously from Kedah and Johor on Dec 3 to raise public awareness of issues like food shortage, environmental problems, draconian laws and the impending economicl crisis.

The riders are scheduled to reach Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim at Parliament House.

Jerit has accused the police of harassment and submitted a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) on the matter.