Mat Rempit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Mat Rempit is a Malaysian term for 'an individual who participates in illegal street racing', usually involving underbone motorcycles (colloquially known as Kapcai) or scooters. 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 and bullying. 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.
2 comments:
PENANG, April 1 – In the 1979 science fiction cult classic "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, a race of hyper-intelligent beings built a computer named Deep Thought to find the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, and after seven and a half million years of calculating, found the answer to be 42.
In Malaysia, the police thought long and hard about to cope with this menace to mankind known as Mat Rempit, and found the answer to be 42 as well.
The authorities have tried everything they could think of to deal with this scourge but the gangs of Mat Rempit illegal racers were unperturbed and not even scared of the law.
The Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), despite the daily routine and ad-hoc enforcement against the illegal racers, badly needed a solution to the problem.
PDRM's Pulau Pinang Contingent found the answer in “Squad 42”, a team set up just to curb illegal motorcycle racing in the state.
This squad, named after Section 42 of the Road Transport Act 1987 that covers the offence of riding motorcycles recklessly and dangerously, was set up on Jan 4, 2008.
Since its existence more than a year ago, the squad has chalked up high number of success against the Mat Rempit menace.
Pulau Pinang Public Order and Traffic Police Chief Supt Wan Aziz Wan Husin said the aim of setting up Squad 42 was to formulate and coordinate the enforcement action taken by the state traffic police to curb illegal racing.
"Squad 42 has three officers and 21 men spread over two teams stationed on the mainland (Seberang Perai Tengah, Utara and Selatan districts) and island (North East and South West districts)," he said.
He said apart from conducting patrols, the special squad also issued summonses for traffic offences, make arrests, carry out intelligence work and under cover assignments to identify locations favoured by the Mat Rempit gangs.
Wan Aziz said the arrest on illegal racers is made according to the offences committed under the Road Transport Act 1987 or Penal Code. As for the procedure for arrest, it is done according to the Criminal Procedure Code.
Wan Aziz said Squad 42 had conducted 687 operations from January last year up to Feb 23, 2009. A total of 40,509 vehicles were screened and 963 were impounded in these operations.
"During that period, 18,883 traffic summonses were issued and 367 arrests were made. From these arrests, 269 were Malays, 58 Chinese, 24 Indians and 16 were from other ethnic groups," he said.
Wan Aziz said the squad had successfully “wiped out” the Mat Rempit menace at two spots identified as the most favourite among the speed fiends.
"Our non-stop operations have totally stopped the Mat Rempit gangs from racing at two spots at Jelutong Expresway (JE) and Butterworth-Kulim Expresway (BKE).
"Previously the two stretches were their favourites and during the weekend, at least 200 people would gather there at night either to race or view the action," he said.
Wan Aziz said before springing into an operation, the squad members would discuss and decide on the strategy to be used.
He said the squad members would be assigned tasks like making reconnaissance and going undercover.
"Our men would go undercover to penetrate these gangs and this makes our task easier as there are seven locations that are on the gangs' list for illegal races.
"Those who go undercover are usually young men and their motorbikes are also modified to resemble that of the Mat Rempit gang members," he said.
Wan Aziz said two hours before the start of the operation the Squad 42 members would meet for a final briefing to ensure that the operation would run smoothly as planned.
Wan Aziz said the illegal races would usually start at about 2am. There are at least five locations preferred by the Mat Rempit gangs each time there is a race, he said.
They would also move to the other locations together, ignoring the presence of the other road users, said Wan Aziz.
"They would move in groups and never bother to stop at any red traffic light and some of them could be seen imitating Superman flying.
"When a race is on, some of these Mat Rempit gang members would block each of the road junctions to prevent other vehicles from obstructing their activity," he said.
Wan Aziz said the Mat Rempit gangs were willing to journey from the mainland to the island and they collaborated well with each other.
Usually for each race, the speed fiends would start at Padang Kota road before proceeding to Bayan Baru roundabout. They would then move to the Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa) road.
"From Pisa, they would head for Bukit Gambir before ending at Tanjung Tokong. They would then take a break and the situation would return to normal as if nothing has happened," said Wan Aziz.
On the mainland, the gangs’ preferred stretch is the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR).
According to Wan Aziz, Squad 42 now is checking on the “RXZ Gang” whose members are the most notorious and violent of all the Mat Rempit gangs in the state.
This gang is also believed to be involved in other crimes including snatch thefts.
"In operations held, RXZ Gang members have acted recklessly, including ramming the policemen on duty in order to escape," he said.
Wan Aziz said the gang members were willing to escape into the bushes even though they suffered injuries as long as they could avoid the police dragnet.
"There are some who resorted to using violence against the policemen," he added. – Bernama
Post a Comment