Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Mat Rempit Tales (Part 1)

Many of my readers and friends had asked me to write about the menace of Mat Rempit.

What I will do is to post the write-up of those victims who had sent their stories to me.

This one below was sent to me by a reader called Hann. Read on...

I would like to relate an incident which happened to me regarding these mat rempits. 2 weeks ago, I was driving down Jalan Sultan Ismail (KL), when a white Satria cut into my lane and I ended up clipping him from behind. The accident was very minor and we both pulled over to settle. Less than a minute later, mat rempits had arrived from behind me and surrounded my vehicle. They robbed me of my money, watch, phone and sunglasses, then beat me with helmets when I refused to hand over my credit cards! I believe that they were simply looking for an excuse to beat on a lone Chinese guy. Fortunately I was able to escape and run to Sheraton Imperial Hotel, where security kept them out and called the cops. By then my head was bleeding and I was bruised all over.

When the police arrived and I related my incident, they were honest with me; there was no point in making a report as nothing would come of it. I made a report anyway. The police were right. Even though I had managed to spot the licence no of one of the bikes, it turned out to be a fake plate. An “investigation” is underway to determine if the Satria was involved in the robbery, but I’m not getting my hopes up.

After reading many blogsites on the mat rempit problem, it seems to me that my story is not an uncommon one. None of us victims ever receive justice, and that the mat rempits usually get away scot-free, ready to commit more assaults, robberies or rapes.

The question I want to ask is, why is it that our society cannot effectively punish and control these criminals? I have heard excuses such as:
  • “our police force is too undermanned to catch the mat rempits, who far outnumber cops and are unafraid of them”;
  • “even if the police catch these mat rempits, there is no effective (legal) way of punishing them, since they do not fear jail”;
  • “UMNO Youth (Khairy Jamaluddin) is protecting them and using them as political leverage”.

And so on. I’m not sure how many of these excuses are valid. There have been calls to beef up out police force, or to destroy any motorbikes found to have been used in a crime. What I do know, is that not enough is being done to keep our society safe. This problem first surfaced in the late ‘90s, and it seems to have gotten worse. If the mat rempits know that the police are afraid of them, and the government is protecting them, can u blame them for getting bolder and bolder??

Like all those who hate these mat rempits, there is nothing I would love more than to run them over in my vehicle. However, is this really the best way to fight them? Would it deter them from committing crime, or make them more violent? Does anyone have a feasible long-term suggestion for eradicating these people from our streets? How do we make this problem a priority for our government?

I will be posting this blog on several sites, and will also write in to several newspapers calling for feasible suggestions to this problem. I am ashamed to admit that before this happened to me, I merely read the stories, and while resenting the mat rempits for what they did, I did not feel a need to take any action myself. I hope that all of you who have not yet become a victim do not make the same mistake. Imagine how bad this problem could get if left unchecked. How far will you let it go before you decide to take action yourself? When you yourself have been robbed and beaten? When your wife or daughter has been raped and murdered?

I hope that all of you who have taken the time to read my post, take more time to consider the situation and respond to it. If all of us band together and take action, maybe we will be able to wipe these criminals from our streets by next year.

Previous post: Mat Rempit - Asset or Menace?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe we should ask Mel Gibson to film Mad Max 4 in Malaysia. I am not worry about his age, a Cleveland V8 engine can roll over tons of mat rempit.

Anonymous said...

Denying the current ruling party their much-desired 2/3 majority in Parliament is the surest way for the opposition to push through legislation outlawing those mat rompaks.

One way is to position police sharpshooters on top of buildings with orders to shoot on sight groups of motorcyclists racing through the roads. Once a few of those mad monkeys have been cut down by the sharpshooters, peace will return to this country's roads.

Anonymous said...

protected by KJ. you mean theres no law in Malaysia? may be huh?

zewt said...

Maverick, you've already said it... the problem started in the late 90s... it has already been almost a decade. do you see their activitied being curbed? or encouraged?

there's no use really... just have to play our part and be more vigilant.

Helen said...

This is not going to be popular.. but in all honesty? I would honestly like to get my hands on those Monster truck and run them over if they try anything.I've personally experienced being hogged by a group of rempits on the road.

I think there should be a ruling no motorcycle groupings of more than 5 should be allowed on the road together after 9pm.

Anonymous said...

Why cann't the police use the law for illegal gathering to catch these Mat Rempit?

Anonymous said...

The police said no point making a report? What kind of police is this?

And then they tell us later that they are not aware that there is a problem with Mat Rompaks because there were no reports made!

How can we trust our police if they only think of their own convenience? Have they given some thought to the victim? Or the public in future? Or are they going to act only after a VVIP kena rompak by the Mat Rompaks?