The police have been warned not to "harass or arrest" the 'Ride for Change' campaign cyclists as they end a 16-day nationwide tour at Parliament House tomorrow.

Issuing the call, 21 civil society groups jointly demanded that Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar and Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan should immediately stop police harassment of the cyclists.

jerit ride for change bicycle tour 051208 02 "The minister and the police must guarantee the cyclists' safety and freedom to submit their memorandum demanding policy and institutional reforms, to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim (tomorrow)," they said in a statement today.

The campaign, organised by grassroots coalition Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit), has been riddled with police harassment and arrests from the day it started on Dec 3.

Two teams of cyclists had begun the journey from Kedah and Johor in the bid to raise public awareness of issues such as food shortage, environmental problems, draconian laws and the impending economic crisis.

Since the campaign kicked off, the 100-odd cyclists - many of whom are teenagers - have seen much drama with arrests and roadblocks. Several bicycles were torched by arsonists.

Probed under Child Act

In the latest incident, the two teams were separately detained by police on Monday as they entered Selangor on the last leg of their journey.

jerit ride for change rawang police protest 161208 11 The team from the south was stopped in Bangi but was allowed to continue after being ‘held' in an estate for more than five hours.

However, the northern team encountered big trouble in Rawang when they were detained overnight by the police.

The police are investigating 30 cyclists, including several Jerit activists, PSM parliamentarian for Sungai Siput Dr D Jeyakumar and PKR state assemblyperson Gan Pei Nie.

They are alleged to have violated the Child Act by 'manipulating' children to take part in the campaign, as well as provisions of the Police Act.

section 32 child act 2001 171208 The police subsequently said Jeyakumar would be charged with exploiting children under the Child Act.

Another 27 participants, who are under the age of 18, were released to their parents the next morning.

However, the civil society groups lambasted the police over the manner in which they treated the parents.

They said that the parents should not have been stopped from entering the Rawang police station when they arrived to pick up their children.

"This intentional delaying of the return of the children to their parents is strongly criticised.

"The police intentionally caused additional and unnecessary trauma (for) parents and children alike, as a form of police-inflicted punishment."

A paranoid and archaic police force

The civil society groups noted that, throughout the campaign, 121 arrests had been made at nine stops.

"The absurdity of arresting harmless cyclists has just made (the police) and Malaysia the laughing stock (of the world)," they pointed out.

penang jerit cycling campaign 071208 incident They argued that there is no threat posed by a group of cyclists who leaflet and talk to the public.

"The ridiculous action suggests a paranoid and archaic police force and a senseless and incompetent government that cannot handle citizen participation in a modern society."

They also said that arresting citizens to prevent their meeting with the prime minister and opposition leader in the Parliament is akin to openly insulting both the august House and the constitutional monarch who heads the institution.

The 21 groups included Civil Rights Committee of the KLSCAH, Writers Alliance for Media Independence, Centre for Independent Journalism, People's Parliament, Group of Concerned Citizens, Youth for Change, Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, Malaysia Youth And Students Democratic Movement, Centre for Policy Initiatives, Suaram, and Community Development Centre.

jerit ride for change 171208