Illegal street racers, or in the well known names, Mat Rempit, is a serious issue that knock our country right now. Known for their kamikaze skills on the road, causing chaos in society, their unmannered attitude and the current is murdering people. Statistics shows that this group causes too many crime and problems. With their enormous amount, they felt like the road is belongs to them and nobody have any rights to punish them. This is why almost everyday we heard and see their actions and news on the media. Their popularity is equal to Mawi and Datuk Siti Nurhaliza until then, the film maker had decided to make film about them.
So, as a Malaysian, what is our role in solving this issue? Do we need to blame themselves for all this or it is us who let this things happen? Let us see why this Mat Rempit issues happens and how we should solve it together. As we can see, almost all of Mat Rempit is in the youth group. We should realize that in this stage, their thinking, attitude and action were influenced by their peers. They used to follow their friends rather than their own parents and teachers advice. This peer influence is very strong and sometimes dangerous if they follow the wrong path for example the illegal racing.
Related article: Causes of Snatch Theft
This is why the amount of Mat Rempit is increasing from time to time. Furthermore, the desire to try something new and challenging is one of the factors that lured them into the illegal racing. They felt that it is very admirable and outstanding if they can win the race or dosuicideskills such as riding in the high speed or get away from the police road blocks. They love to break the laws since they think that it is just an amusement for them. So, how we want to solve this problem? How we want to settle down this issue that has been caused many problems to us?
The government, politicians and police have done many things to settle this, but it seems like there are no stopping point for the Mat Rempit. We should give a compliment to Pemuda UMNO for their effort to convert this Mat Rempit to “ Mat Cemerlang” by giving them an opportunity to change and UMNO membership. Although this step is like a politics campaign, we should bear in mind that maybe one day they will realize that there are people who concern about them and hoping they will change. Next, schools play an important role in order to solve this problem.
I’m not saying parents since I know that some parents didn’t know their son’s attitude very much compared to the teachers and their friends. This is because in school, they used to be with their friends and we can determine their attitude very well by observing with whom they are making friends. Schools should collaborate with the police to identify which students involved in illegal racing and punish them by sending them to the counselor or in the serious case, dismiss them from school. This is very important in order to prevent this student to influence the other students to join him.
Although this approach is too drastic and cruel, we should consider that the youth is tending to be influenced by their friends. Furthermore, in my opinion, the National Service Training Program or PLKN should include a module that thought the trainee to avoid and aware the illegal racing. They should be exposed to the danger of illegal race, the punishment that will wait them if involved and how to enjoy their life in the best ways. By implementing this approach, at least, the trainee can think wisely and preventing them to become one of the Mat Rempit candidates.
As a conclusion, what I can say is, action speaks louder than words. It is useless if we just babbling around and blaming them for all this problems although some of them caused some serious case. We should cooperate with government, politicians and NGOs to track back how this thing happen and find a solution to solve it. The Mat Rempit should be thankful for the government and society for not treating them like the snatch thief and the homosexual group although they have cause many problems. The government and society still can accept them as long as they want to change.
We can see many campaign and approach for them right now. After all, this group is our country’s apprentice that will lead us in the future. If they are still like now and we are just blaming them, the one who are needed to blame is just our self. One of Mat Rempit’s favourite ‘Aerodynamic Pose’ a. k. a. ‘Superman’ seen on the streets of Malaysia. A Mat Rempit is a Malaysian term for ‘an individual who participates in illegal street racing’, usually involving underbone motorcycles (colloquially known as Kapcai) orscooters.
Not all Mat Rempits are involved in street racing; some of them perform crazy stunts for fun, such as the wheelie, superman (lying flat on the seat), wikang, and scorpion (standing on the seat with one leg during a wheelie). Mat Rempits usually travel in groups and race in bustling city centres on weekend nights. In recent times, Mat Rempits have been linked to gangsterism, gang robbery[1][2], street fighting, assault[3], vandalism, theft andbullying. Most motorcycles used by the Mat Rempits do not meet standard specifications, or have been modified extensively for greater speed, or just to make the exhaust noisier.
Additionally, some Mat Rempits do not have valid motorcycle licenses, do not pay road taxes, and ride stolen motorcycles[4][5]. A growing number of housing estates have also been turned into racing tracks[6]. It is estimated that there are about 200, 000 Mat Rempits in Malaysia[7]. In some other countries, the term Mat Rempit is also u Etymology The word ‘Rempit’ came from the combination of ramp it (ramp the throttle). The definition of ‘Rempit’ in Kamus Dewan[2] is menyebat dengan rotan in malay or whipping with cane.
An alternative source of the word, ‘Rempit’, is derived from the noise made by a 2-stroke motorcycle. ‘Mat’ is a malay slang term to call or to refer to a person who usually is of Malay descent but usually used derogatorily. sed, but more to refer to one as a motorcycle lover or rider (Mat Motor), as opposed to an illegal motorcycle racer. Sometime the terms of Mat Rempit misused to refer any individual who rides an underbone motorcycle. Related to this is the Mat Konvoi, which claim to be the non-racing version of Mat Rempit.
