A man and his bicycle

SOME mayors leave lasting footprints, Kuala Lumpur city’s chief leaves cycling tracks for others to follow.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Phesal Talib greeted me with a grin as he stepped onto the Mid Valley–Dataran Merdeka bicycle lane while we waited for the fleet of escorts to arrive.

Seeing the mayor dressed in a red Kuala Lumpur City Hall polo tee, coffee-brown slacks and a retro-yellow helmet and brimming with enthusiasm resembling a boy going on an adventure, instantly turned all the groggy officers and myself into “morning people”.

Ahmad Phesal (in red) points to the ‘No Motorcycles’ sign board, after ushering errant motorists away from the bicycle lane. Photos by: LOW BOON TAT

 

It was a journey of 5.5km to get a candid view of Kuala Lumpur through the mayor’s eyes.

“Ha! Look at the DBKL directors cycling to work in their baju kerja (office attire).

“See, now we can all cycle to work,” he said excitedly.

Confused motorcyclists on their morning commute stopped and stared as their illegal shortcut through the bicycle lane was sealed off by traffic officers.

Seeing the growing traffic congestion of motorcyclists, Ahmad Phesal caught hold of one errant motorist’s arm and pointed to the “No Motorcycles” signboard.

“Tengok ni (Look at this), you cannot ride here,” the mayor sternly ushered the motorcyclist back onto the appropriate lane.

Then noticing a deliberately removed pole barrier on the bicycle lane, the 61-year-old carried the metal pole on his own to fix it back into place.

“I think we need more signboards to tell people this is a bicycle lane,” he instructed DBKL Urban Transportation Department director Dr Leong Siew Mun.

The blue bicycle lane at Brickfields.

 

Satisfied with the nods from his colleagues, Ahmad Phesal pushed off on his blue-and-yellow mountain bike, followed by eight DBKL enforcement marshals and seven high-ranking officials.

It is no secret that the greatest love of Kuala Lumpur’s 10th mayor is cycling.

Having come a long way from his birthplace Kampung Batu Menunggul in Pendang, Kedah, Ahmad Phesal is a man with big dreams.

“I like my job! Sangat seronok. (Very enjoyable)

“Some of my plans have come to fruition, for instance more bicycle lanes like this to make it a more vibrant city and more usable for the locals.

“But being a mayor is now more challenging because of social media.

“Everything people are unhappy about is on Facebook now and so we have to respond much faster,” he said.

He paused to take in the sights and sounds of Kuala Lumpur and smiled before turning to me.

“Such a beautiful city. Kuala Lumpur is so beautiful.

“Everything that I do for Kuala Lumpur is successful because of these people,” he said and gestured to his team of directors.

Catching our breath near the iconic residence of Malaysian tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan in Brickfields, Ahmad Phesal said based on his 38 years in government service, he was aware that it took time for people of the city to inculcate values.

“There are 1.72 million people in this city and there will always be some problems such as the mat rempit and vandals that take time to change.

“Cities such as Copenhagen in the Netherlands took 30 to 40 years to get their people to be more aware in looking after the city for each other.

“Just like them, Malaysians need to learn to do the same and put other people before themselves,” he said.

He became a cycling enthusiast at 37 during his stint as secretary in Labuan Municipal Council, and currently has four bicycles.

“My favourite is this one. It was a present from a group of cycling enthusiasts in Penang about 10 years ago,” he said in reference to his time as Penang Municipal Council president from 2004 to 2006.

Steering his way through the winding lanes, our bicycle tyres met the pothole-scarred roads en route to Pasar Seni LRT station.

“Ini kenapa jalan semua tak elok? (Why are these roads so damaged?)” he asked.

DBKL Planning deputy director-general Datuk Mahadi Che Ngah quickly explained that it was because of heavy vehicles using the lane, to which the mayor shook his head.

Whizzing past bare spaces in the city, Ahmad Phesal greeted an Alam Flora worker clearing rubbish.

Ahmad Phesal cycles in every city he visits and is particularly fond of Paris and Copenhagen.

“In Copenhagen, the bicycle lanes are wider, so people can cycle side by side and have conversations,” he said.

As if on cue, my handlebar caught on the wire fencing, dragging me to a screeching halt and I had to acknowledge the need for a wider bicycle lane.

Besides being a “father” to Kuala Lumpur, the mayor has five children of his own and one of his sons, Mohd Afiq, who works in the Prime Minister’s Department, has inherited his love of cycling.

Just before we reached Dataran Merdeka, I suggested that we wait for the traffic light to turn green alongside the other cyclists, to which the mayor agreed and halted the cavalry of DBKL officers.

After five minutes of waiting at the traffic light, he noticed the traffic policeman directing traffic.

He told his officers to take note and hold a discussion with the police, in view of the automated traffic lights in Kuala Lumpur.

As we waited at the lights, he greeted passers-by with a quick “Morning!” and a smile.

“I learnt a lot from London mayor, Ken Livingstone.

“He is a very friendly man and always put people first. That’s how a mayor should be,” he said.

In light of the cycling mayor nearing the end of his contract he grinned at my questions on his retirement plans.

“I‘m a family man. I have been travelling a lot for work, I think I want to stay home.

“I have always wanted to teach. Maybe I can be a lecturer at the Institute of Public Administration to teach leadership.

“I have a lot to share with new leaders,” he strategically answered.

When we reached Menara DBKL 1, he sat down at the breakfast table and began discussing official matters of the day, before DBKL Management deputy director-general Datuk Mohd Najib Mohd could even take his first fork of mee hoon Siam.