For the first time in nine days since the 'Ride for Change' cyclists put feet to pedal, they did not encounter any obstacles or harassment from the police.

After reaching Ipoh this morning, the cyclists were greeted by Perak Menteri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin.

jerit cycling campaign 071208 cylist cycle onto town The cyclists, who are part of a nationwide tour organised by the Oppressed Peoples' Network (Jerit), also submitted a six-point memorandum to the Pakatan Rakyat leader.

A posting on the Jerit website said that, unlike over the past eight days, the group encountered no problems with the police today.

"As planned, they reached the MB's place on time as there were no roadblocks. When the MB came, there was lion dance and Indian drums to greet him. The memorandum was handed over by three cyclists.

nizar jamaluddin 100 days interview 180608 03 "After that, the MB gave a speech where he emphasised that the cyclists should not be disturbed by the authorities and that the Perak government is with the cyclists," read the posting.

Cyclists from the southern team reached Kota from Tampin in Negri Sembilan, also without any untoward incidents.

Their next stop will be Rembau where they would meet with PKR division chief Badrul Hisham Amin.

The cyclists are into the ninth day of their tour with the final destination being Kuala Lumpur.

Eight days of drama

Yesterday, 44 cyclists were briefly detained in Kanthan, Perak, where they had to furnish the police with their personal details. They were also reportedly quizzed on whether they had links with any secret societies.

Two days ago, the police arrested 10 participants including Sungai Siput parliamentarian Dr D Jeyakumar.

The activists were arrested at Taiping and Kuala Kangsar in Perak and Segamat in Johor. All were released on police bail in the evening.

On Saturday, eight bicycles were damaged in a fire set by arsonists when the 50-odd cyclists had stopped for the night in Penanti in Seberang Perai.

jerit cycling campaign 071208 pkr offfice in taman muhibah kluang Last Thursday - the second day - a cyclist was detained in Merbau Pulas, Kedah and detained for several hours for questioning at the Kulim district police headquarters.

On the third day, the lorry transporting the bicycles was stopped at the Penang Bridge and escorted to the Bayan Lepas police station.

The bicycles were however returned to the cyclists after a few hours.

Some 50 cyclists, most of them teenagers, kicked off the Jerit campaign from Alor Setar last Tuesday while a southern team of 15 cyclists began their journey on Saturday from Johor.

However, even before they started their two-week long trip, some of the participants from the Johor team were detained for questioning.

Despite this, the cyclists are determined to reach Parliament House as scheduled next Thursday, where both teams will converge to deliver a six-point memorandum to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Yesterday, a group of Jerit activists submitted a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam)

jerit ride for change events 111208