Cycling in Malaysia

 

If we enjoy biking/cycling this much , don’t move to Malaysia .

Biking here in Malaysia is 99% for recreation , sports and fitness .

Taking Klang Valley as an example , we Malaysians would likely

find ourselvespedaling/cycling   early on Saturday and Sunday mornings only , and

wearing a helmet . Not like the people who live in  Netherlands or

Holland who ride their

bicycle casually without wearing a helmet regardless whether they are

going to

school [ 1 1 2 3 4 5 ] , going shopping [ 1 ] , going to a hospital [ 1 ] , going

to work, etc., etc. 

All other times or most of the time we Malaysians , in big cities like

Kuala Lumpur ,

Penang , Ipoh , Melaka , Johor Bahru , etc., etc., are driving with our

cars ( big or small for safety , convenience and ambience or whatever  ) or

motorbikes ( big or small for convenience , economical reasons or

whatever  ) , when

going to School , going shopping , jalan-jalan cari makan , going to a

hospital ,

visit relatives , going to work , balik kampung , and other

activities , etc., etc. In my

opinion , Malaysia is a car-centric nation . Taking Klang Valley as an

example , and in Kuala Lumpur , we have flyover to reduce traffic

congestion and the roads are well connected to

the last mile . Simply amazing !   In Malaysia , I guess having a

car ( big or small , old or new ) or a

motorbike ( big or small , old or new ) ,  is the most appropriate means of

transportation , to go

to places , to reach places , to reach destinations and to go every where

and to go to every nook and cranny in Malaysia .

So , how on Earth , can Malaysia be a cycling nation .  In my opinion ,

I believe , we still can . Taking Kuala Lumpur as an example or

as a case study . In my opinion , in a nutshell , for a start , firstly ,provide good bicycle infrastructure for city dwellers , that is , create a

bicycle path or bicycle/bike lanes that separate the bicycle/bike lanes from motorcar lanes for city dwellers . Secondly , create routes , shortest routes , from residential places to places that are popular to the Malaysian crowd ( places that are frequently visited by

Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur  .  Among them are popular places , like  Movie Theathre , Shopping malls that are popular to the public , Lake Gardens , Museums , Gallery , Sports Stadium , Railway stations ,

Hospitals , etc., etc. ) . Thirdly , provide good bicycle infrastructure for  cities that are near to KL , provide good bicycle infrastructure for  cities heading towards Kuala Lumpur , like for example , Ampang , Gombak , Petaling Jaya , Kelana Jaya , Subang Jaya , Shah Alam , etc., etc. , to go to KL and all these popular  places .

Malaysians , young or old ,  rich or poor , with different walks of life , who live around these areas , I believe , if provided with good bicycle infrastructure ( something like this or this or this or this or this ) or bicycle lanes and routes , that are safe and sound , to  go to Kuala Lumpur and back home ,  will definitely use the bicycle lane to go to Kuala lumpur , when going to School , going shopping , jalan-jalan cari makan , going to a hospital , visit relatives , going to work , balik kampung , and other activities , etc., etc   Of course we do not expect everyone or everybody who lived around these areas to ride a bicycle to    go  to Kuala Lumpur , but I believe Malaysians who love cycling or Malaysians who love riding a bicycle will use the bicycle lane to go to Kuala Lumpur , and as a result ,   it will definitely reduce the amount of cars that go to KL , it will definitely reduce the amount of cars that enter Kuala Lumpur , so much so that there will be less carbon emission ( reduce carbon emission ) and the air around Kuala Lumpur will be less carbon monoxide .

Anyway , as of today , October 2022 , Malaysia is not a bicycle-friendly city