Singapore Newspaper reports about Malaysian Mat Rempit..
How much trouble can you cause with a little motorbike?
Well, in the hands of a Mat Rempit, it can be a great cause of irritation to other road users.
Mat Rempits have annoyed the Malaysian nation with their reckless riding and total disregard for other road users.
Malaysian bloggers have complained that Mat Rempits take over streets in housing estates as well as main roads in the city centre for their street races that can comprise up to 100 motorbikes.
They speed, cut into lanes of other traffic users, create enormous amounts of pollution and noise and gather menacingly at traffic lights acting as if they own the roads.
When they are not racing, they are attempting stunts in open roads in a dangerous and haphazard manner for fun that often result into fatal accidents.
Such accidents occur when they are trying to ride away from the police, sometimes into on-coming traffic, and when failed stunts cause their bikes to fall over injuring or killing the rider and the pillion.
So who are these so called Mat Rempit hooligans?
According to Wikipedia.com, a Mat Rempit is a Malaysian term for an individual who participates in illegal street racing usually involving small motorcycles of less than 200cc, also known as Kapcai, or scooters.
'Mat' is a Malay slang term used to refer to a person with stereotypical characteristics of a Malay person.
The term 'Rempit' comes from the combination of the words 'ramp it'; to ramp the throttle.
It also sounds like the noise made by a small motorcycle.
Most motorcycles used by the Mat Rempits do not meet standard specifications or have been modified extensively.
Mat Rempits usually travel in big groups of over 30 bikes and race in bustling city centres on weekend nights till the wee hours of the morning.
It is estimated that there are about 200,000 Mat Rempits in Malaysia, according to Wikipedia.com.
The trouble they cause
Mat Rempits have been linked to gangsterism, gang robbery, street fighting, vandalism, theft, bullying and rape.
The Star newspaper reported that some desperate Mat Rempits who are in quick need of money are getting their girlfriends to provide 'sex services' to their friends.
According to a former Mat Rempit, most of them are always on the lookout for money to buy drugs.
An incident that has been regularly blogged about on the internet is the attack of a Canadian by Mat Rempits.
One night, the 43-year-old consultant on a job assignment in Seremban was driving a four-wheel drive with three friends when a car suddenly pulled up in front of his vehicle.
He was then surrounded by 40 Mat Rempits.
Manjit Singh from Montreal who travels to Malaysia regularly for work said when he wound down his window to inquire, one of them punched him.
He was also hit in his face with a helmet.
Mr Singh was injured in his left eye and mouth.
The Mat Rempits then went on to damage his vehicle's rear lights, wipers and number plates.
"It was the most harrowing experience. I was assaulted for no reason", he said.
Mr Singh said the motorcyclists warned him to be careful as he was a foreigner.
Public view
A member of Malaysia's opposition, the Democratic Action Party, and author of 29 books mostly about Malaysian issues, Lim Kit Siang was especially disgusted by Mr Singh's incident.
He is one voice that is loud and clear about Mat Rempit-ism.
In his blog, Mr Lim cites reports on the rampage and violence of Mat Rempits in the country.
One report shows that they are not afraid of authority.
Mr Lim blogged that two Mat Rempits attacked a police station with petrol bombs in the late hours of the night as they were not happy with the police having a road block.
In another incident, a group of ten Mat Rempits turned violent and attacked a police car and a few policemen when a favourite area of theirs was blocked by traffic police.
Mr Lim voiced his concerns saying they create fear among peaceful and law-abiding Malaysians as well as visitors with their lawlessness and contempt for the rights and safety of others.
He is also concerned that they are giving the country a bad name.
The general consensus shows that Malaysians are sick of them and want them to be stopped.
There is even a petition online calling to stop the Mat Rempit culture.
However, the government thinks otherwise.
What to do about them?
One Malaysian politician, Putera UMNO Chairman Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, said for example, a representative from a Honda motorcycle and car dealer was impressed with the riding skills of these Mat Rempits.
The representative was also amazed with the engineering skills of the Mat Rempits, boosting the speed of the motorcycles to 180 kilometres per hour considering that the company's engineers were having difficulties in achieving a speed of 120 kilometres per hour.
So, in an effort to harness their potential, the government has come up with a plan to deal with the Mat Rempits; much to the amusement and fury of Malaysian bloggers.
This idea is the re-branding of the Mat Rempit name.
According to Bernama, UMNO wants to change the Mat Rempit name, with its negative connotations, to Mat Cemerlang (meaning Excellent Mat).
They hope this will alter the nation's thoughts of these hell riders into a positive one.
It was also reported that UMNO will reward the nuisance mongers with new motorcycles if they can catch over 30 snatch thieves.
Hopefully, this will encourage the Mat Rempits to help curb crime and become an asset to the nation.
Bloggers are still not impressed and see the attempts by UMNO as unfavourable to the general public.
They complain that the government wants to hire the Mat Rempits for their own political agenda, particularly to become 'spies' for UMNO.
Their question is "Why reward and favour criminals when they should be taught a lesson?"
To them, Mat Rempits are a public nuisance that must be stopped.
The debate of the Mat Rempit continues and will carry on doing so as long as they remain a threat to the public and the government comes down softly on them.
However, who knows if the attempts by the government to include them as a positive figure will work? If it does, then a lot of Malaysians can breathe a sigh of relief and have something to smile about.
With Singaporeans going over the Causeway for Chinese New Year and the holiday season carrying on into the weekend, AsiaOne advises everyone to be vigilant, let them be and be patient when manoeuvring on the roads.
Source : AsiaOne Motoring
How much trouble can you cause with a little motorbike?
Well, in the hands of a Mat Rempit, it can be a great cause of irritation to other road users.
Mat Rempits have annoyed the Malaysian nation with their reckless riding and total disregard for other road users.
Malaysian bloggers have complained that Mat Rempits take over streets in housing estates as well as main roads in the city centre for their street races that can comprise up to 100 motorbikes.
They speed, cut into lanes of other traffic users, create enormous amounts of pollution and noise and gather menacingly at traffic lights acting as if they own the roads.
When they are not racing, they are attempting stunts in open roads in a dangerous and haphazard manner for fun that often result into fatal accidents.
Such accidents occur when they are trying to ride away from the police, sometimes into on-coming traffic, and when failed stunts cause their bikes to fall over injuring or killing the rider and the pillion.
So who are these so called Mat Rempit hooligans?
According to Wikipedia.com, a Mat Rempit is a Malaysian term for an individual who participates in illegal street racing usually involving small motorcycles of less than 200cc, also known as Kapcai, or scooters.
'Mat' is a Malay slang term used to refer to a person with stereotypical characteristics of a Malay person.
The term 'Rempit' comes from the combination of the words 'ramp it'; to ramp the throttle.
It also sounds like the noise made by a small motorcycle.
Most motorcycles used by the Mat Rempits do not meet standard specifications or have been modified extensively.
Mat Rempits usually travel in big groups of over 30 bikes and race in bustling city centres on weekend nights till the wee hours of the morning.
It is estimated that there are about 200,000 Mat Rempits in Malaysia, according to Wikipedia.com.
The trouble they cause
Mat Rempits have been linked to gangsterism, gang robbery, street fighting, vandalism, theft, bullying and rape.
The Star newspaper reported that some desperate Mat Rempits who are in quick need of money are getting their girlfriends to provide 'sex services' to their friends.
According to a former Mat Rempit, most of them are always on the lookout for money to buy drugs.
An incident that has been regularly blogged about on the internet is the attack of a Canadian by Mat Rempits.
One night, the 43-year-old consultant on a job assignment in Seremban was driving a four-wheel drive with three friends when a car suddenly pulled up in front of his vehicle.
He was then surrounded by 40 Mat Rempits.
Manjit Singh from Montreal who travels to Malaysia regularly for work said when he wound down his window to inquire, one of them punched him.
He was also hit in his face with a helmet.
Mr Singh was injured in his left eye and mouth.
The Mat Rempits then went on to damage his vehicle's rear lights, wipers and number plates.
"It was the most harrowing experience. I was assaulted for no reason", he said.
Mr Singh said the motorcyclists warned him to be careful as he was a foreigner.
Public view
A member of Malaysia's opposition, the Democratic Action Party, and author of 29 books mostly about Malaysian issues, Lim Kit Siang was especially disgusted by Mr Singh's incident.
He is one voice that is loud and clear about Mat Rempit-ism.
In his blog, Mr Lim cites reports on the rampage and violence of Mat Rempits in the country.
One report shows that they are not afraid of authority.
Mr Lim blogged that two Mat Rempits attacked a police station with petrol bombs in the late hours of the night as they were not happy with the police having a road block.
In another incident, a group of ten Mat Rempits turned violent and attacked a police car and a few policemen when a favourite area of theirs was blocked by traffic police.
Mr Lim voiced his concerns saying they create fear among peaceful and law-abiding Malaysians as well as visitors with their lawlessness and contempt for the rights and safety of others.
He is also concerned that they are giving the country a bad name.
The general consensus shows that Malaysians are sick of them and want them to be stopped.
There is even a petition online calling to stop the Mat Rempit culture.
However, the government thinks otherwise.
What to do about them?
One Malaysian politician, Putera UMNO Chairman Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, said for example, a representative from a Honda motorcycle and car dealer was impressed with the riding skills of these Mat Rempits.
The representative was also amazed with the engineering skills of the Mat Rempits, boosting the speed of the motorcycles to 180 kilometres per hour considering that the company's engineers were having difficulties in achieving a speed of 120 kilometres per hour.
So, in an effort to harness their potential, the government has come up with a plan to deal with the Mat Rempits; much to the amusement and fury of Malaysian bloggers.
This idea is the re-branding of the Mat Rempit name.
According to Bernama, UMNO wants to change the Mat Rempit name, with its negative connotations, to Mat Cemerlang (meaning Excellent Mat).
They hope this will alter the nation's thoughts of these hell riders into a positive one.
It was also reported that UMNO will reward the nuisance mongers with new motorcycles if they can catch over 30 snatch thieves.
Hopefully, this will encourage the Mat Rempits to help curb crime and become an asset to the nation.
Bloggers are still not impressed and see the attempts by UMNO as unfavourable to the general public.
They complain that the government wants to hire the Mat Rempits for their own political agenda, particularly to become 'spies' for UMNO.
Their question is "Why reward and favour criminals when they should be taught a lesson?"
To them, Mat Rempits are a public nuisance that must be stopped.
The debate of the Mat Rempit continues and will carry on doing so as long as they remain a threat to the public and the government comes down softly on them.
However, who knows if the attempts by the government to include them as a positive figure will work? If it does, then a lot of Malaysians can breathe a sigh of relief and have something to smile about.
With Singaporeans going over the Causeway for Chinese New Year and the holiday season carrying on into the weekend, AsiaOne advises everyone to be vigilant, let them be and be patient when manoeuvring on the roads.
Source : AsiaOne Motoring
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