Here in Japan, daily usage of bicycle is widespread. Unlike in Malaysia, of which from my experience majority of the users are the schoolchildren, you can see all kinds of Japanese, of various ages, of different professions, riding the bicycle. Either they use for it for commuting to workplace or school, or going to shops, or to some people's houses, it's a common method of transportation.
There's even someone I know who was very surprised at seeing a salaryman dressed in full suit, cycling all his might on his foldable bicycle to work. His snide remarks about the uncoolness of their appearances probably shows the of how different Malaysian see the bicycle. While bicycle is just a form of transportation in Japan, it has its own image in Malaysia, probably as something "only schoolchildren or the poor use".
It should be noted that for personal, one-man transport, the bicycle is very energy-efficient. Not only that, they don't . Seeing the trend of late in many countries towards reducing CO2 emission to counter global warming, encouraging the usage of bicycle in daily life seems to be an important point to consider. Not for Japan of course, as I think the rate of its adoption is mostly saturate, meaning those not using it probably have some other underlying reasons that prevents them. But Malaysia, I see room for improvement.
The reason I'm saying this is, I see that most Malaysians drive all the way to the shops around the neighboorhood. Probably even to their neighbours' or relatives' house. I won't complain if the place they're going to are very far away, that would be a valid reason to drive. But to your friend's house which is just a stone's throw away? Why must you start the engine and burn fuel for a one-kilometre trip?
I wonder since when the popularity of the bicycle start to recede. I recall seeing pictures of towns in the earlier era of previous century, streets bustling with the two-wheelers. Nowadays, the same streets are filled with automobiles instead. If you're lucky, you get to see one or two bicycles. Not schoolchildren though, as they probably wouldn't have cycled all the way to the town.Here I am trying to think up a number of reasons why people would rather drive than cycle in Malaysia:
- Weather is very hot!
Malaysia, being a tropical country, is hot all year long. Somehow people just can't bear the heat, or probably they'd argue that the rays from the sun are bad for their skin. They'd rather have the convenience of cool air-conditioning, even if it's just a short travel. But motorcycles don't have aircon, you say? Okay, maybe they want to shorten the travel even more so they don't have to be under the sun a minute longer.
While I can't deny that Malaysia is hot, maybe even I myself do not prefer being under the sun too often, but I have to point out that even in Japan, the climate can become very hot. Japan is a country of four seasons, with summer being one of them, of which the temperature can top 36 degrees in where I'm living. And the feel of the hotness is somewhat different; it's more unbearable (I did put up though). But the Japanese people continued their routine cycling to workplace, school, supermarkets, etc.
Talk about global warming, if Malaysia becomes hotter, would more people shy away from the bicycle?
- Destination is very far!
This is probably valid for those commuting to workplaces very far away, like 30-minute drive or so. Yes, in Japan too, they won't cycle for such long distances but instead take a train. But what I want to criticize are those who drive to the grocery shops in their backyards. It can't be that far, so why drive? Probably to save time? Brings us to another reason then:
- Time is money!
Probably all nations on this world acknowledge the fact that time is valuable, and rest assured, Japanese are more strict about time than Malaysians are. Actually, depending on how the route to your destination is layed out, you might even take up more time going by car as you have to start the engine, follow the traffic signals, etc. Most of the time this is not the case, so this can be considered an important factor. Then again what do you people use with all that time you saved up?
- I don't have the stamina!
Cycling can be tiring, I admit. At times when you're tired, you probably don't even want to think about riding the bicycle. But it's not like you're tired every single day. People would argue, why waste away your bodily energy when there's a better alternative where you don't have to excrete a single drop of sweat at all? But I figure these are the same people who'd probably don't exercise enough all their lifetime. As for those who do regularly exercise, it'd be a contradiction by itself.
- Bicycle is so low standard!
As mentioned before, in Malaysia, for daily usage, bicycles are mostly owned by schoolchildren and the poor. Because of this, bicycle is perceived as status of belonging to the lower class.
- My bicycle always breaks apart!
This is my single biggest gripe about bicycles in Malaysia. Probably I made mistakes in choosing, but somehow the bicycle I'm using here in Japan is more durable. The one I'm using now is almost two years old now, whereas the bicycles I used back at home often require repairs of many parts. The bicycle I use here is a mama-chari, a typical bicycle with a basket in the front and a rack at the back. So far, with my abusive cycling, the only damage it suffered is a tire puncture, whilst the mountain bikes I used in Malaysia had to undergo numerous gear alignments, brake pad and pedal replacements, etc.
I suspect the culprit to be the quality of the bikes. After all, the Japanese pride in their rigid quality control, whereas the mountain bikes I bought were assembled by the shops which sold them, thus the quality depends partly on the assembly skill of the shopkeepers.
- I just bought one last month, now it's gone!
Theft of all sorts is rampant in Malaysia. I was very surprised when lately those crooks stoop to even stealing the iron gratings that cover the drains and allow cars to cross over it safely. As for bicycle theft, that has been a thing since ages ago.
In Japan, the police take active measures to curb bicycle theft. You have to register your bicycle upon purchase. The police stop people randomly from time to time to check the bicycles they're riding for their registration number. If it happens that your name and the one on registration do not match, chances are you might get arrested. This is good enough to deter amateur thieves, which I think are responsible for most of the bike losses in Malaysia.
- I don't want to get hit by the car!
Because we don't have sidewalks in Malaysia like they do in Japan, cyclists find that most of the time they have to share the road with the cars. This means they are more prone to fatal accidents, as unlike car drivers whose bodies are protected by the frame/body of the vehicle they are in, cyclists probably would be flung off from their seats if hit.
Why the need to discuss all these at all? Because in the near future, Malaysia will probably recognized as a developed country, and thus will need to participate in the greenhouse gas emission reduction program. One of the viable steps would be to reintroduce the bicycle for daily chores. Otherwise it encourages healthy lifestyle through the exercise involved, and also reduces waste of resources used by the energy-inefficient cars and motorcycles.
Some of the obstacles cannot be overcome individually and have to be dealt by the authorities. But as for the first five points, I really urge people to rethink and reconsider their lifestyle for the better.
