MALAYSIANS KINI | Jordi Arip Rahman turned his passion for cycling into a dream job two years ago when he and several friends founded Velo Express, Malaysia's first modern bicycle messenger service.

It is tiring and challenging work, he admits, but the Terengganu native would not have it any other way.

"This is the best...I used to work for others and was really stressed.

"There is still stress in this job, but at least there is satisfaction," Jordi Arip told Malaysiakini when met after a day of running errands in Kuala Lumpur.

Dressed in khaki shorts, a white T-shirt matched with a red plaid shirt, and a cap, Jordi Arip said he first started cycling full-time back in 2007 when he first moved to the capital to look for a job.

Now he cycles everywhere he goes. This includes the hour-long trip he makes from his home in Uptown Damansara to the city centre every weekday morning to start his work.

Jordi Arip's choice to go completely petrol-free was inspired by a mix of economics and a love for the environment brought on by magazines he was exposed to in the punk scene.

But despite living the dream, Kuala Lumpur can be a quite a nightmare to navigate as a cyclist, the 32-year-old revealed.

"There are a lot of weaknesses (with KL roads). There is no bike lane, the roads are riddled with potholes, the drivers have bad attitudes and don't signal when they turn, things like that," he said.

However, he hopes that things will improve in the future, and that more Malaysians will abandon their cars and motorbikes for a bicycle.

Here is Jordi Arip's story in his own words.

I STARTED CYCLING when I moved to KL. I cycled when I was little, but cycling to commute back and forth from home to work only started when I was in KL.

IT WAS DUE TO ECONOMIC FACTORS because at the time I realised how expensive everything was, including public transport. So I rode a bike instead.

If you drive a car, you have to pay for fuel, parking, and other things. Cars are also too big, you're moving just one person but you take up so much space.

I don't like motorbikes, there are a lot of problems, like police roadblocks. I haven’t done anything wrong, but I feel suffocated by the number of times the police want to check my identity card and license. I don't like that.

ANOTHER FACTOR WAS THE ENVIRONMENT. I'm in the punk scene, and there are a lot of magazines about the environment, about why bicycles are the best mode of transportation. It's fun and healthy.

MALAYSIANS NEED TO BE MORE AWARE OF CLIMATE CHANGE and the environment, then they will want to cycle, and they will realise how bad pollution is in the city.

People ask me if Malaysians will cycle only if there is good infrastructure. But if you look at the history of places like Berlin and Denmark, people cycled first, and then the city provided the infrastructure.

If DBKL decided to build proper infrastructure now, people still wouldn’t be using it.

KUALA LUMPUR FORGOT ABOUT CYCLING when they planned the city. If they had planned for bicycles starting from the 80s, things would be ok now.

But they only started planning in 2015, so it is difficult.

DBKL seems to be building bike lanes just to show other countries that we can do it too, but they're not implementing infrastructure for cyclists properly. They don’t providing adequate parking for bicycles.

Penang is the best state to cycle in because even though the drivers are bad, they respect cyclists.

Terengganu is good too, because there are a lot of professional competitive cyclists in the state, so the people there are used to it.

IF THERE WERE PROPER bicycle paths, more people would be cycling. There are already more people cycling nowadays, especially in the city centre, but the infrastructure isn't there.

KL has the potential to become a bicycle-friendly city, they just have to implement the plans properly.

MEN ARE QUITE PRIVILEGED to be riding bicycles in Malaysia. We realise it's not so easy for women cyclists.

One of my co-workers is a woman, she has been grabbed at before and robbed. But she still cycles, she's still determined. Most people quit cycling after getting robbed.

I WAS A FREELANCE GRAPHICS DESIGNER before I started working as a bicycle messenger.

I liked doing graphics, but when you do it as a business, you have to follow your clients. Clients cause a lot of problems, like late payments and so on.

So I thought about how I could make money, but at the same time do something I liked.

I THOUGHT ABOUT BICYCLES and spoke with my housemate, who said becoming a bicycle messenger was a good idea.

I had met other bicycle messengers from abroad before, when they gathered at alternative music and art space Rumah Api. They told me they don't have to meet their boss, and they get to be outside every day. It's a cool job.

This started out with some friends who were influenced by other places like Jakarta, Singapore, Hong Kong, which had bicycle messengers.

We thought about the heat, but if cyclists in Jakarta and Singapore can do it, why can't Malaysians?

MY ADVICE to those who want to turn a hobby into a business is not to worry if you don't make much.

THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT MONEY, it's about passion. When I was working for other people, I always felt down and stressed.

There is still stress, but at least there is satisfaction. At least Mondays are not gloomy because you know you get to ride your bicycle on Monday, and you've already polished your bike on the weekend.

MALAYSIANS KINI is a series on Malaysians you should know.

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