by Chan Oga, HELP University Malaysia.
According to Wikipedia.com, there are an estimated 200000 Mat Rempits in Malaysia with the youngest about 15 years old. They are speed racers with the trademark tight blue jeans. The bikes they ride are often illegally modified for speed and noise. They are also called ‘hell riders’ because of the dangerous stunts they perform such as reverse “wheelie” where they just ride with one wheel, “superman” lying flat on their bike as they ride, “scorpion” which is standing with just one leg while riding their bikes and many more. Most of them are either school dropouts, jobless, or lowly paid men. They perform badly in academics, often get scolded by parents and are not thrilled by their job. They are in a way, social outcasts, but being part of the rempit community gives them a sense of belonging, companionship and thrills.
According to Professor Rozmi Ismail, the Head of Psychology at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the Mat Rempit culture is seen as a show off culture. A Mat Rempit told a forum, “Each scar sustained from falling off the motorbike is like a feather on our caps as it earns us bragging rights over our endeavors on the road”. In the day, they feel left out by the society, but by night, they roam the streets in groups, creating traffic havoc, vandalizing public and private properties or menacing the public. By being Mat Rempits, they are in their own world; they would die for each other. Their group is big; they fear no one, not even the police. They would hit through road blocks or attack the policemen on duty to get away. In October 2006, car windscreens were smashed in Bangsar area after a resident there yelled at them for being noisy and a police station in Penang was stoned after two members of their gang were arrested. One night when Professor Rozmi was with thousands of Mat Rempits conducting a study, the police planned a road block but none of them showed up because they were afraid of the Mat Rempits who tend to get aggressive. Up to today, there are more than 100 Mat Rempit gangs with the name Balang, Kamikaze, Apache, Rxz etc. Some gangs are mere bikers, but some merge together for robbery, where even to be a group member, they have to commit crimes such as stealing a motorbike or rob someone. As fearless as they are, they do not fear of getting hurt in their illegal and dangerous endeavors.
Mat Rempits are usually active on the roads from 11pm till dawn. Those who attack and rob civilians have come out with several techniques. Usually, a member of the gang would deliberately hit a motorist. The motorist would then be accused and assaulted by the whole group, robbed and usually beaten up. Such is the case of Parminder and his friend who were driving towards Titiwangsa. They were then robbed and beaten up by a group of about 50 Mat Rempits. Another new technique would be laying helmets on the road. Motorists on the road would stop to remove the helmets and the Mat Rempits would rob them. Some of them do not even require techniques. They just attack in public places as a group. People watching would not dare to do anything for fear of their own safety. Such is the case of Foong Mei, a 23 year old deaf and mute woman who was slapped and robbed at a petrol station by a group of 20 Mat Rempits. The workers in the petrol station dared not do anything.
If it is true that the Mat Rempits are committing their menaces to gain attention, they have definitely proven their existence to us. Our neighborhoods are not safe anymore. Tourism is adversely affected by the acts of these Mat Rempits. The government has formed Squad 42 to battle against Mat Rempits through various ways including undercover. However, as UMNO’s Abul Azeez said, the Mat rempit issue is not going to be solved for the next generations to come. Their number is way too huge and it is their hobby. We cannot stop them.
“Mat Rempits- the 21st century challenge to out sociologists, politicians and law enforcers are now our public enemy No. 1″ – The New Straits Times
