Have pedals can travel!

In the 1960s, when the Malaysian government, under the aegis of the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, proposed building a modern highway, the Federal Highway, to ease traffic in the Klang Valley, it drew considerable flak from the Opposition. They said it was a sheer waste of money.

The same kind of antagonism arose in the early 80s when the ruling government considered it another waste of money when a modern toll highway along the spine of the Peninsula was announced. The opposition also cited profiteering and the enrichment of cronies' coffers as the basis for their position. Still, the leaders successfully bulldozed their plan.

Undeniably, these projects have brought so much development to the country. One cannot imagine Malaysia without these highways, and life would not have been the same without the minister responsible for the roads, Samy Vellu, and his antics.

This was the first thought that came to my mind when I participated in a fellowship ride in Cyberjaya recently. It was an 88-km ride organised by the Development Board of the State of Selangor (PKNS) as a sin-washing, oops, CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility project. It was named the Selangor International Ride (SIR), but the only thing close to being international about it must surely be the expatriates who participated. I do not think anyone travelled all the way to partake in this event. It was not a race, there was no podium for medals, and there were no prizes. Just like in India, where SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of the Electoral Roll is chasing away illegal immigrants from places like West Bengal, SIR (Selangor International Ride) kept competitive cyclists away.

The ride was led by a lead police car and outriders, which created a safe gap for cyclists to speed up until they approached the water stations at the 40km and 60km marks. Here, the convoy would stop, regroup and restart after a short break. So, it was not a race, and there was no race chip to record participants' times.

The intriguing thing is the intricate lattice of well-paved dual-carriage roads that serve this whole area. From the Selangor Cyber Valley Lake Park, the convoy moved around the dull, imposing infrastructure surrounding Cyberjaya. In the 90s, Cyberjaya was earmarked to be Malaysia's answer to Silicon Valley. It promised to attract investors and market players by providing high-speed internet free from government controls, with information flowing seamlessly like rivers of glaciers. 30 years on, everyone realised it was just an afternoon post-prandial daydream that cleared when it became clear it was time to go back to work. In 2025, the police are more diligent at being a thought police than at going on their beat rounds, managing traffic, or keeping the community safe.

After completing a short loop near the starting point, the mammoth structure came into view: the Cyberjaya government hospital. Funny, less than 15 minutes' drive was another huge government hospital, the Putrajaya Hospital. In a sparsely populated area, it is mind-boggling that the powers that be deemed it necessary to have two large hospitals so close together. In contrast, other State hospitals, such as KLGH, Sg Buluh, and Selayang Hospital, were packed to the brim. Some things in life remain unanswered. This is one of them; the other may include the strange disappearance of MH370.

Technically, the bureaucrats would tell us that both hospitals are in different districts. One is in Putrajaya, whereas the other is in the Sepang district. From Cyberjaya, we slowly moved towards Sepang town and its vicinity.

The first time I saw the word 'Sepang' was when I was a teenager. It was written on a bus in thick, bold Tamil script. In fact, it was the only bus company that used Tamil lettering and operated solely on the Sepang route. During those days, rubber and oil palm estates covered these areas. To cater to its passengers, who were mainly plantation workers well-versed in Tamil, such arrangements were considered necessary. 

http://worldabh.info/evobus/benz/of1313/photo01.html

An interesting banner I saw outside a construction site while cycling read 'Keep Sepang Green and Clean'. I thought that message reeked of hypocrisy to the viewer. The whole area was green in the first place, cooling the air and reducing greenhouse gases on the planet. But no! In the name of development, to keep up with the rest of the world, we needed a brand new airport. A new town had to be started from scratch to prove our sovereignty. Industrial estates, expensive bungalows, and housing lots became essential. After clearing the trees, now we want to re-green them. That is the price of development, I suppose. What is development, purists may ask. But even the most spiritually inclined among us may feel that monetary offerings can help spread the Word more smoothly. 

Our journey took us to the outskirts of Banting and Kuala Langat, where we made our initial stop. There were hardly any challenging terrains to overcome. The temperature was mild for Malaysian standards, staying around 25 degrees Celsius throughout the ride. 

After a 15-minute break, the convoy reconvened and headed towards Sepang town proper and Dengkil town. Here, there was a slight inclination near the district office that needed to be conquered. After that, it was all flat all the way. 

A bit of forgotten history of Dengkil was not known to me when I passed through these few points, which are worth mentioning. It had long been of interest to archaeologists, who discovered ancient human activities dating back to the Neolithic period. This period in our history occurred between 10,000 BCE and 2,000 BCE, when humans evolved from hunter-gatherers to settled communities. Tin ore mining was an important industry in Dengkil from the 1920s. At the height of its prosperity, the Dengkil area boasted of having seven large modern dredges. During this period of exploration, bronze bowls, ceramic ware, stone tools, pottery, and agricultural implements from that era were found. Around that time, rubber plantations and Indian migrant workers came to occupy the region. The Chinese were brought in to work the tin mines. The pre-existing Malays in the area could not be persuaded to work for the colonial authorities, hence the need for migrant workers.

Kampong Jenderam Hilir, which we encountered on our route, is an important archaeological site located at the confluence of Sg Langat and Sg Semenyih. Bukit Piatu, which we saw signboards for, yielded a pottery shed.

The 1950s saw the creation of new villages by the Malaysian High Commissioner, Gerald Templer, and his men to combat communists. These settlements were another name for concentration camps. The British sold the idea of winning a war through a 'heart and mind' strategy to undermine communist activities.

Bukit Unggul Golf & Country Club
Courtesy Eric Lim

Paya Indah Wetlands, which is situated in the Sepang district, has seen better days. After flattening the land around Putrajaya and the KLIA (the airport in a jungle), maybe as an afterthought, after brutalising so much of Mother Nature, a disused tin mine was engineered as a wetland to showcase the tropics' fauna and flora. To enhance its allure, the Botswana government donated four hippopotamuses. Pelicans, crocodiles and porcupines were added for good measure. The Wetlands are rarely visited these days.

There is another rarely mentioned news of the oppression of the Orang Asli that has been going on here. The Temuan tribe, who had lived in Bangi, was relocated in the 1970s when their land was used to build the UKM campus. They were given a plot of land around Bukit Tunggul in Dengkil. In 1993, a private golf course was planned to be built on their land. After years of confrontation, by obstructing water and electricity supply, the Court of Appeal, in 2005, reserved that piece of land as their ancestral land. Things, however, are not all hunky dory for the Temuan people.

The ride finally ended back in Cyberjaya with much pomp and splendour. Another ride, another venture to another part of the country not often explored by the mainstream, or at least city slickers. The best way to explore any place is to take a slow voyage on foot or pedal power. Have pedal can travel!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Nobody cares, really!

The Hills and the Sea (2017)
Director: Andrew Ng

Nobody actually bothers about the little people in this world. They only matter to leaders when they are not on the ruling side or to ruling leaders when it is time for their re-election. Otherwise, it is just lip-service.

This 25-minute documentary highlights the effects of overdevelopment of Penang Island to the coastal fishing community of Tanjung Tokong and the displacement of the Dusky Leaf monkeys from the hills of Penang.

Reclamation of lands around the Penang has utterly destroyed the corals, swamp and the marine life around the bay around Tanjung Tokong. Small-time coastal fishermen had been sustaining their family for generations with their little boat catching fishes, crabs and prawns in this area. The building of high rise luxury apartments had not only damaged their rice bowls, but it has also made them strangers on their own turf. A portion of the lagoon had been cordoned off and is classified as private property.

Pleas to the powers that be by the fishermen representatives for aid for bigger boats and durable fishing nets as well as equipment for deep-sea fishing has fallen on deaf ears. The silence from the leaders is deafening. Somehow, these little people feel sidelined to serve the interests of the developers. They are not anti-development but merely want to be able to join in the merriment of living in comfort as the state prospers.

The scarcity of land also pushes development towards the hills. The introvert occupants of these hills, the Dusky Leaf monkeys are feeling the brunt of loss of habitat and difficulty in finding food as the highway cuts through their home. Researcher Joleen Yap highlights the plights of these cute animals as they become road kills when they have to venture far from their usual surroundings for survival. Her efforts seem to be bearing fruit as the people high up have agreed to reassess the environmental impact of the project. Things like canopy bridges are in the pipeline to ease their access to the other parts of the island.

This film debuted at the Malaysian Freedom Film Festival on 2nd September 2017. After the screening of the documentary, the Director, Joleen Yap and the representatives of the affected fishermen were there in person to highlight their grievances.