MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ Riding a bicycle or cycling in most countries , like for example in Malaysia , is just seen as a sport , fitness and recreational purposes , and as a result , not many people do it , or commute to work like in Netherlands or Denmark .
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ In my opinion, the amount of flyovers shows the incredible strong addictions Malaysians have to cars . The flyovers were build , all in the name to ease road congestion and traffic jams but surprisingly after many years of usage and driving cars in these flyovers and highways , traffic jams still occur because , in my opinion , the demand for cars are still growing . We accept the fact that the flyovers and highways were build , one of the many reasons , is road connectivity and another reason I believe is to ease road congestion and traffic jams but it will be good to have a good bicycle lanes or cycling infrastructure in these flyovers or highways that is protected and separated from car traffic , motorbikes , buses , trucks , lorries , etc., etc. In my opinion , we have no shortage of bicycle riders or cyclist ( young and energetic Malaysians plus old and energetic Malaysians ) in Malaysia but we only have shortage , or none at all , of a good bicycle lanes or cycling infrastructure that is protected and separated from car traffic , motorbikes , buses , trucks , lorries , etc., etc.
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ In my opinion, it is safe only to ride a bicycle in a recreational area or a recreational park in Malaysia . Correct me if I am wrong , but there are some brave souls in Malaysia who commute to work ( riding a bicycle to work , a few examples 1 2 3 ) and there are some brave souls in Malaysia who ride a bicycle to school ( a few examples 1 2 3 ) even though there are no proper cycling infrastructure ( a cycling infrastructure that is protected and separated from car traffic , motorbikes , buses , trucks , lorries , etc., etc. , a cycling infrastructure that is segregated from car traffic , motorbike traffic , buses , trucks , lorries , etc., etc. ) . May ALLAH The Almighty bless them [ 1 2 3 4 5 ] and all the Malaysians who Cycle To School and all the Malaysians who Cycle To Work with safety/keselamatan , with good health , good fitness , long life and prosperity , for today , for tomorrow , for the future and for the next step .
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ Bicycles sold in Bicycle Shops in Malaysia are mostly , or if not , all of them are " mens bikes/bicycles " not " upright bikes/bicycles " like the Dutch Bike/Bicycles ( that look something like this or this or this or this ) . With a Dutch Bike if you wear a Sarong or a Kain Pulikat or a Baju Kurung [ 1 2 ] , getting up on a bicycle is quite easy and you do not have to raise up your legs quite high to get on board and you still can ride a bicycle comfortably wearing those clothes . If I go to the Mosque , which is near my house , for my Daily Prayers or Friday Prayers , wearing a Kain Pulikat , I would prefer to ride a Dutch Bike if I had one , which is more practical when wearing a Kain Pulikat .
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ In Malaysia , CAR IS KING ! Malaysian loves its car too much! In Netherlands , I believe , BICYCLE IS KING ! It does not mean that the Netherlands do not have an automotive industry . The Netherlands have an amazing automotive industry and that is why in Netherlands they also have beautiful cars like Rolls Royce , Audi , BMW , Mercedes , Opel, and VW , etc., etc., and the Netherlands also have beautiful road highways and yet the Netherlands can setup a good bicycle infrastructure for her citizens . How did they do it ? How did the Netherlands do it? I guess the answer is here . In Netherlands , riding a bicycle or cycling is considered to be first class and that is why , I believe , they have first class bicycle infrastructure . Take for example , their underground bicycle garage or underground bicycle parking shown here and here is awesome . Malaysia will never build bikeable towns or bikeable cities like this or this or this or this or this or this or this or this or this , etc., etc., so , I guess , having a bicycle parking like this , it is as good as it gets . By God's Grace , perhaps in future when Malaysia become a Cycling Nation , the bicycle parking will be much better .
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ In a car-dependent places , like for example , in Malaysia , you need to drive for everything . Even the most trivial things ( example like buying a newspaper , doing errands , sending our kids to school , meeting with friends in a mamak stall , having a teh tarik and roti canai in a mamak stall , attending a doctor's appointment alone , buying groceries , going to the supermarket , going to the supermall , shopping , shopping around town/city , going to the Stadium watching a football game , going to the LRT/MRT/Railway Station , etc., etc. ) , we drive our car . I believe , all these activities ( within 5Km in radius , meaning , to and fro is about 10 Km ) could be done easily by riding a bicycle casually or by riding an e-BIKE [ 1 ] casually , if we have a bicycle infrastructure ( cyclist friendly infrastructure ) with good bicycle paths or bicycle/bike lanes that look something like this [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ] . No two people are the same in terms of physical fitness . By God's Grace , on a beautiful day and on a sunny day, a normal person with a good physical health and if the road is fairly flat and not too hilly , riding a bicycle or an e-BIKE [ 1 ] casually about 10 Km to and fro is achievable .
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ Malaysia is one of the best countries in South East Asia in terms of food , scenery , landscape , and people in Malaysia live in racial harmony , but , in my opinon , Malaysia is not a cycling nation . In my opinion , Malaysia is also one of the most dangerous places to cycle or ride a bicycle . Take for example , if I am travelling with a bicycle from a residential area like Subang Jaya USJ 2 to Mesjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur , there is no proper cycling lanes that I feel I could reach my destination safely . I have to create my own Subang Jaya to Kuala Lumpur Cycling Trail . In other words , I have to use my creativity to find out which is the best and safest cycle route for me to reach my destination safely and in one piece , based on my cycling experience . On Thursday 17th.November 2022 at about 0800 HRS , I took the plunge to ride a bicycle to Mesjid Jamek in Kuala Lumpur . It is not like I climb my bicycle from my house in Subang Jaya USJ 2 and then get down from my bicycle after I reach my destination in Mesjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur . No , it is not like that . It is a process of riding a bicycle , getting down from your bicycle when stopping at junctions , stopping at traffic lights , pushing my bicycle at the five foot pavement when walking in front of the Shop Houses , lifting/carrying my bicycle when the height of the five foot pavement changes at each Shop Houses , lifting/carrying my bicycle because I have to climb a few flight of stairs to be on a pedestrian bridge in order to cross to another side to get to a safer bicycle route , then get down from my bicycle , and after that trying to figure out which is the best and safest bicycle route to reach my destination in Mesjid Jamek . At one time it turned out to be one of the most frightening and terrifying experience because I took a motorbike lane from Subang Jaya USJ 2 to ride my bicycle to Mesjid Jamek . Why I did this and why I took the motorbike lane is because there is no proper bicycle lane from Subang Jaya USJ 2 to Mesjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur . In my opinion , as of today , November 2022 , the motorbike lane is the only route that is quite safe that separate/segregate the traffic ( cars , buses , lorry , trucks , etc., etc. ) from a cyclist ( a bicycle rider ) if I am going to Kuala Lumpur . During that morning , on Thursday 17th.November 2022 at about 0830 HRS , it was peak hours on the motorbike lane, and everybody riding on their motorbike was rushing to get to their workplace so much so that the motorbike lane heading towards Kuala Lumpur is full of motorbikes . While I was cycling on the motorbike lane heading towards Kuala Lumpur from Subang Jaya , I have this " eerie feeling " that if I make a small mistake while riding my bicycle , or if the motorcycle/motorbike rider make a mistake for not noticing me that I am riding a bicycle on the motorbike lane , a motorcycle/motorbike rider can crash into a bicycle rider like me anytime . That morning , some of the motorcycle/motorbike rider using the motorbike lane are driving their motorcycle/motorbike quite fast and are whizzing behind me quite fast , to reach their workplace and sometimes it really make me feel nervous when I ride my bicycle on the motorbike lane . But with the Grace of ALLAH S.W.T., I reached Mesjid Jamek Kuala Lumpur unscathed , with my bicycle . PHEW ! [ 1 2 ]
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ It is sad to find out that Malaysian motor car drivers , Malaysian motor bike riders , Malaysian lorry drivers , Malaysian bus drivers , etc., etc., do not respect people cycling ( someone on a bicycle and riding a bicycle casually ) . All the budi bahasa , all the sifat lemah lembut , all the good character that we have as a Malaysian ( Malaysians are generally nice , friendly people in person not only known in Malaysia but also worldwide ) , is all lost when we are inside " our wheels " , whether it is 2 wheels or 4 wheels or 20 wheels , etc., etc. When we Malaysians are inside " our wheels " we are like a ............. Malaysians , who are inside " their wheels " , especially 2 wheels (motor bike) and 4 wheels (motor car ) , sometimes , do not even respect other Malaysians who are inside their 2 wheels (motor bike) and 4 wheels (motor car) , let alone someone riding a bicycle (riding a bicycle casually) . This situation , sometimes , make riding a bicycle in Malaysia scary and sometimes terrifying , even when riding a bicycle in our neighbourhood , or in a residential area let alone on a main road without a concrete barrier . But I am very sure not all Malaysians who are inside " their wheels " are like that , and respecting each other is the key to a safe and a better cycling environment in Malaysia , whether you are in 2 wheels , 4 wheels , 20 wheels , etc., etc.
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ If Malaysia have a bicycle path like this [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ] , if Malaysia have a bicycle infrastructure like this [ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ] , I believe , Malaysians ( young and energetic Malaysians who love cycling ) would definitely love to cycle to work , even though they have to ride through sunshine , wind and rain .
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ Cities are not loud , Malaysian cities are not loud , cars are loud (roaring motocar engines , car horns , loud exhausts from cars , etc., etc.), motorbikes/motorcycles are loud (roaring motorbike engines , loud exhausts from motorbikes , etc., etc.) . This is noise pollution . Riding a bicycle [ 1 2 ] or an e-BIKE [ 1 ] and having more bicycle and more e-BIKES [ 1 ] in our Malaysian cities , reduce noise pollution , make our Malaysian cities more calm , more cool and it make Malaysians feel better physically and emotionally .
- MALAYSIA IS NOT A CYCLING NATION _ Every bicycle ride in big cities in Malaysia , like for example in Kuala Lumpur , are dangerous and stressful . Even though we have bicycle/bike lanes in Kuala Lumpur ( not all roads in Kuala Lumpur have bicycle/bike lanes ) that are marked in blue but they are not protected bicycle/bike lanes because physical barriers are not present to divide the car traffic , motorbike traffic , lorry truck traffic from the bicycle/bike lanes and that make a person riding a bicycle on these bicycle lanes feeling very uneasy , feeling very unsafe . You have that feeling that any moment , you will be knocked down by a car or a motorbike or a lorry truck or by a bus or whatever . Having more protected bicycle/bike lanes or physical barriers , that look something like this , dividing the car traffic from the bicycle lanes (segregation from the traffic ) , that look something like this , or this , will help to prevent aggressive motorist and aggressive motorcyclist as well as lorry drivers and bus drivers who would drive too close to the cyclist ( someone on a bicycle and riding a bicycle casually ) .
- Conclusion : Like in Netherlands and in Denmark , the same goes for Malaysia , we are not asking all Malaysians or every Malaysians to ride a bicycle , it is just that , in my opinion , if we want to build a robust bicycle infrastructure or a robust cycling network in Malaysia , “ make our Malaysia housing communities/residentials bikeable [ 1 2 ] , make our Malaysia town bikeable [ 1 2 ] , make our Malaysia cities bikeable [ 1 2 ] , that is , by building a good bicycle infrastructure that give a bicycle rider ( or cyclists ) a direct and convenient route that keeps them separate from cars that look something like this or this . Once every housing community/residential , every town and every city in Malaysia has a good bicycle network in it , then we can start thinking about connecting those bicycle networks , just like what we did with cars/motocars “ . The best kind of cycling infrastructure is a cycling infrastructure that people feel safe on it , a cycling infrastructure that is protected and separated from car traffic ( and motorbike/buses/truck/lorry, etc., etc. ) , so , whenever a cyclist ( a casual bicycle rider ) have to share the road with cars , motorbikes , buses , trucks , and lorries , they will start to feel comfortable and safe and they will start to think , " I will be able to ride a bicycle there safely , I will be able to ride a bicycle to work safely , I will like my children to cycle there , I will allow my children to cycle there , etc., etc. " . The protected and safe cycling infrastructure is really the key .
- Malaysia have got so much work to do to be a truly biking/bicycle nation !
