This cyclist was hit by a motorbike in KL. The PDRM didn’t take action. Here’s the story.

With the “basikal lajak” case being all the (road) rage in the recent weeks, a friend of ex-CILIBOS Chak, Frank recounted his frustrating experience of being the victim of a traffic accident in March last year. It wasn’t enough that he got hit by a motorcycle, the police didn’t seem very keen on doing anything about it when he tried to make a report.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves – Frank’s story began along the hillside roads of Bukit Ampang where he was cycling back home from Hulu Langat. He was just riding along, when, without warning, a motorcycle hit him from behind, and the next thing he knew, he was on the ground covered in scrapes and cuts. His bicycle was so badly damaged that he basically couldn’t ride it anymore.

Disoriented and reeling from the pain, Frank saw the motorcyclist trying to ride off, but the motorcycle jammed up, possibly because of the impact with Frank’s bicycle earlier. After confronting the motorcyclist, Frank found out that the man couldn’t compensate him for his injuries and ruined bicycle, and all he had was a picture of the man’s MyKad before they went their separate ways. Alright, problem solved, right? All he had to do now was to head to a balai in Kajang, make a report, and have the motorcyclist’s insurance company foot the bill. Easy.

PDRM refused to arrest the motorcyclist who hit him

Except… that wasn’t how things went at all. When he tried to make a police report, he was dealt another blow by the officer on duty – apparently, the motorcyclist didn’t have a license (and hadn’t had one for the last 11 years), and the motorcycle wasn’t insured; meaning, Frank had to pay for his medical bills and buy a new bike out of his own pocket.

So, the officer said, forget about it, go home he said. I asked him why don’t you do something about it, he asked me back, do you want to go to court? This (case) will be very lengthy. – Frank, in an interview with CILISOS

The officer, Frank said, seemed reluctant to start an investigation, arrest the motor guy or even issue the man a saman for no discernible reason other than inconvenience. Instead, the policewoman asked him, “Who do you think you are to take a photo of someone else’s IC?”. Understandably, Frank left the police station feeling like he was the one in the wrong – was it his fault for snapping a pic of the motorcyclist’s MyKad or cycling through a mountain pass?

Well, when he was done relaying his story to us, we went and checked whether he broke any laws, and it turns out…

There’s no real law against taking a photo of someone else’s IC

Things are gonna get heavy here, so let’s take it step by step. First off, we couldn’t find anything that suggests that it’s illegal to take a photo of someone else’s MyKad. It feels wrong, but not necessarily illegal. Sure, you’re not supposed to hold on to a MyKad that’s not yours, but after doing some Google-fu and asking a lawyer friend, the only piece of law we have that protects your MyKad info is the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) 2010…

An Act to regulate the processing of personal data in commercial transactions and to provide for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.

…which only works when companies try to sell your data. Taking a photo of another person’s IC is, at best, a legal grey area.

What might surprise y’all even more is that there are no “proper” laws that specifically govern people who ride bicycles on the road. There is the Malaysian Highway Code, which is essentially a collection of “recommendations” for road users, and here’s what Rule 66 of the Code says:

66. Always seek and use the safest route. Keep out of heavy traffic as much as possible. Avoid highways in particular, and fast traffic in general.

And then there’s the Road Transport Act 1987, which applies to anyone who’s operating a vehicle on the road. Sections 42 and 43 of the Act in particular says that everyone – including cyclists – shouldn’t be doing two things:

• Driving dangerously – Driving recklessly or at a speed/in a way that endangers the public
• Driving carelessly – Driving without due care and attention, or without consideration for others on the road

But from what we heard from Frank, his cycling didn’t come across as either dangerous or careless, and he pretty much stuck to the side of the road. What gives?

Laws aren’t perfect… because people aren’t perfect

Laws are great. They’re there to protect people like you and me, but they’re not perfect. Laws can’t do their job if people don’t do their jobs – like we saw in Frank’s case. The motorcyclist didn’t have a license, was riding an uninsured motorcycle AND he hit someone with it. There was little to no doubt that he was in the wrong; and yet, it appeared that nothing could done to give him the compensation he deserved.

There’s also the issue of whether the right laws exist in the first place – more specific laws were in place to govern cyclists might have made things easier for Frank, and help protect cyclists and other road users at the same time. When laws and policies are not clear, then it becomes a question of “what should people do in these situations?”. Unless Frank dragged the motorcyclist to the balai with him, all he could do was take a picture of the man’s IC, and unless policymakers pass laws to clarify these points of concern, it’s pretty likely that these sorts of things will continue to happen.