UKM News Official Portal

By Abdul Ghani Nasir

BANGI,  1 July, 2010 – Mohd  Akhbar  Nizam, 17 who should  be sitting for his SPM examinations later this year,  had been very passionate about  ‘remping up’ his motor cycle performing dare devil stunts than studying.

Bowing to pressures by peers and the need for a sense of belonging, Akhbar  who rode a motorbike bought for him by his father, then became part of a group of  ‘Mat Rempits’ (dare-devil bikers) in Rawang.

Akhbar and one of those friends, Mohd Firdaus Ramli, were two out of about 30,000 bikers who cruised our roads doing various stunts and dangerous acts on the roads. Both are not sure whether they are prepared to sit for their SPM examinations later this year.

But what is certain following their stints at a four month training camp organised by Universiti  Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), they would be joining either the Institute Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN) or Giat Mara for  skills training that will them with a vocation.

They were among the few lucky teenagers who were chosen to participate in the Youth Empowerment Camp Programme (PPR)  UKM) since March, 2010  along with 31 others chosen to undergo an intervention programme  for problematic youths who have potential.

“I did not realise that apart from riding bike, we also have talent in kayaking and sailing in challenging situations, ” said Akhbar at the closing ceremony of the Camp, last Monday (June 28). They had prior to that sang the song ‘Taubat’ (Repent) composed specifically to express their regrets on their previous behaviours.

Programme Head, Camp Base Intervention Centre for  Youth Empowerment UKM,  Associate Professor Dr Rozmi Ismail, who is looked upon as a father figure by the participants,  said: “It is not easy to change the human habits but in this initiative I believe we have been able to have a 70 percent success rate.” Erasing the ‘Mat Rempit’ label is not easy, he said.

The programme began on 1 March, 2010,  when the 33 participants reported to Kolej Pendeta Za’aba for  a precamp screening to build up their phychological and physiological profiles.

This was followed by character building tests followed by aerobic exercises, orientation and sporting activities like Futsal and Volley ball on the fourth day.

The four staged camping session kicked off with ‘self realisation’ and ‘character building’  sessions followed by two camps on emotional management.

 “Two of the camps introduced the participants to their personal profiles, effective communication techniques and anger management which are important before moving on to the next programme,” said Dr Rozmi.

In Camp 3 which is self empowerment, the participants were taken to the Outward Bound School in Lumut , Perak  to take part in a kayak expedition to Teluk Sekadeh with 20 kayaks in a formation when they were paddling in shipping lanes.

They paddled around Pulau Pangkor  to Pantai Syawal before camping in a special area followed by sessions where each participant  went  into the jungle alone to test their mental strength to face unexpected situations.

Camp 4 was held in Nur Bukit Unggul, where the tenageers shared their experiences with national icons including Jeneral (B) Dato Seri Zaini Said, a national hero who negotiated the surrender of  a group of armed men  in Sauk,Grik; Khairol Daud, Presiden of  Kuala Lumpur Bike; former  national motorcycle racer Wazi Abdul Hamid and national astronaut  Dato’ Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.

“This last camp succeeded in making them realise their potential with positive thinking. It gave them a chance to share experiences with the national icons especially on how to become a successful person even without paper qualifications.

 “The thing that the national icons wanted to instill is the passion and intense desire for success,” said Dr Rozmi.

What makes Dr Rozmi and his collegues to focus their time and attention to the  ‘Mat Rempit” phenomenom ?

Dr Rozmi and his team of researchers found that though activities were only a past time, they have a more sinister impact. “Drugs, women and money is offered in illegal races. These are addictive motivators for illegal racing. This can lead to other problems. Mat rempit is also associated with promiscuity and crimes like rape and snatch thefts.”

Dr Rozmi is from the School  of Phychology and Human Development , Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities,  UKM said the danger of the rempit culture is that the phenomena is the tip of the iceberg of social ills involving teenagers.

The main culprit leading to the problem were lax parental supervision allowing their children full freedom with their bikes as well as rejection by society. Children who feel the lack of parental supervision and being unhappy at home will seek an escape by running loose on the streets.

Mat Rempits who have jobs will modify their bikes to add speed. Modern bikes are also manufactured to run faster and faster.

Dr Rozmi with four other researchers , Prof Madya Dr Rokiah Ismail; Prof. Madya Normah Che Din;  Mohd Fauzi Sukimi and Norhayati Ibrahim did a study on Aggressive behaviour and criminal activity among Mat Rempit  in February  2008. The study highlighted the violence commited by Mat Rempits as were reported in the media. Some examples were:

In Bangsar a deaf and dumb girl was surrounded and robbed by 20 bikers at a petrol station; in Johor a pregnant mother died when she was mugged by bikers.

In Seberang Prai, the Kubang Semang police station was stoned;  a police officer  was severely injured and blinded when he was run over during an operation against illegal racing.

In Selangor,  a 13 year old girl claimed that she was raped by two Mat Rempits.

Agus Asraf Sumarji 21 was stabbed to death when he had an accident with a Mat Rempit from another group in a Damansara Shell station.

Among the location where the researchers had face to face sessions with the delinquents are Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur; Jalan Pasir Tumboh, Kelantan; Dataran Stadium Terengganu and Dataran Menara, Alor Star.

In all 564 Mat Rempits were interviewed in hot spot areas and out of that 50 respondents were interviewed in depth.

The studies concluded that clash of values between segments of society like family, schools, residents and the authorities and their peers leading to tensions, perception and belief. 

Identity crisis and the differing concepts of society interactions, needs and responsibilities created a confused group of teenagers who are imbalanced, angry and hostility prone youth.  

Teenagers who joined gangs known as ‘deviant cliques’ will fall prey to aggressive and anti social attitude, not conscious of  the need for education and involved in activities which leads to crime.

The study found that almost half of the 564 ‘Mat rempit’ studied, a total of 327 (58 %)  have  SPM qualifications,  STPM 24 (4.3%) and 12 degree holders (2.1 %). The rest are made up of either not schooling (9 ) or studied only until UPSR (13 people - 2.3 %) and PMR (76 - 13.5 %).

The study also found that  46 (8.2%) of them are unemployed , 43 work as office boys , 36 dispatch riders, 37 factory workers , 51 mechanics  ,119  work in various fields with 135  still schooling. The remaining  96 were student of institutions of higher learning.

Their age ranges from 13 to 32 with an average age of 19.88, an age where they should be in college or University.

 Out of those interviewed 549 are Malay teenagers  (97.3%), 14 Chinese (2.5%) and only one Indian. Of them four were girls. Among them 18 were married with the remaining 546 (96.8 %) still single.

The bikers spend about RM500 to RM1000 to modify their motorcycles such as exhaust pipes, caburators and wheel rims.