Cycling campaign: A success story

The innovative campaign by grassroots coalition Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit) has been described as a 'ground breaking success' by the movement's coordinator Y Kohila.

In an attempt to highlight the demands of the people, Jerit adopted an unique route - by cycling across the country advocating for change.

"This is our biggest event and it was a success because it managed to reach the people ... although we have not achieved anything policy wise, we believe now that the people will rise to pressure the government," said Kohila.

The campaign, explained Kohila, was inspired by the struggles of Bukit Asahan estate workers in Malacca in the 1970s, who then marched to Kuala Lumpur to meet then prime minister to resolve their problems.

The motive of the campaign was a call for the enactment of the Minimum Wages Act 1948, improved housing, controlled consumer prices, abolition of preventive laws and stop privatisations of water, hospitals and schools, among others.

The first leg of the campaign was initiated in Alor Star, Kedah on Dec 3 by a group of some 50 riders from all states from the north while another team begun their tour from Skudai, Johor on Dec 6.

A 1999 idea

According to Kohila, the organisers had only spent about RM30,000 on the whole campaign as the cost of accommodation and food were borne by various communities in estates and towns, who had offered not only lodging and meals but also organised talks and performances for the cyclists.

"The idea was conceived in 1999 itself but we decided to make it happen only this year... the general election was the main reason for the campaign.

"We thought the change in the political climate would be beneficial to the people and the "people's agenda would be politicised, but only continuous politicking has happened," she said.

She added that even the bicycles were sponsored as the movement had advertised to the people to adopt the cyclists in order to make the campaign successful.

The 16-day 'Ride for change' campaign which took off on Dec 3, however, did not have a smooth journey throughout. Arrest and harassment also took place.

The first round which flagged off in Alor Star faced its first blockade the very next day when cyclist L Ruben was arrested by the police at the village of Merbau Pulas, about 20km from Kulim, Kedah, for distributing leaflets. He was however, released afterhis statement was recorded.

On Dec 5, the third day of the tour, the campaign hit another obstacle as the lorry carrying the bicycles was stopped by the police in Teluk Kumbar, Penang.

The police had also barred the cyclists from lobbying or leafleting in the area but had promised to escort the cyclists who were scheduled to meet with Penang CM Lim Guan Eng the next day to hand over their memorandum.

The team from Johor, had hardly begun their journey on Dec 6 when 16 of their cyclists were nabbed by the police at the starting point and subsequently released after questioning.

Furthermore to make matters worse, the next day about eight bicycles were damaged in a fire set by arsonists at the Yayasan Aman building, located in mainland Penang.

A couple of days after the arson incident, 10 cyclists including Sungai Siput member of Parliament Dr D Jeyakumar were arrested in Taiping, Perak and on Dec 10, it hit another snag when 44 riders of the same team from the north were nabbed in Chemor, Perak.

Parliament the finishing line

However, all throughout the journey, none of the riders were detained overnight, except when the cyclists were pedalling thorugh Rawang, Selangor on Dec 16 when the police had taken in all 57 riders to the station.

Thirty adults were accused of stirring an illegal procession and exploiting children as most of the cyclists were teenagers under the age of 18.

For the first time all those below the age of 18 were placed under the supervision of a Welfare Department officer overnight before they were released to their parents and guardians the next day.

Nevertheless, despite constant harassment, the cyclists had reached their finishing line in Parliament on Dec 18, where both teams from the south and the north converged to deliver a six-point memorandum of demands to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Although both the prime minister and the opposition leader were not present to receive Jerit's memorandum, their representatives Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department T Murugiah and Pakatan leaders Lim Kit Siang, Jeyakumar and Mahfuz Omar as well as Saifuddin Nasution of PKR had welcomed them.