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A Mat Rempit is a Malaysian term for "an individual who participates in immoral activities and public disturbance with a motorcycle as their main transport", usually involving underbone motorcycles, colloquially known as Kapcai, or scooters. Mat Rempits are not involved in street racing but rather go against each other for cheap thrills and to rebel against authorities while some of them perform 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).
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Etymology
The word "Rempit" comes from "ram(rev)-it" (ram the throttle). According to Kamus Dewan, the definition of "Rempit" is "the act of whipping with a cane". An alternative source of the word is derived from the noise made by a 2-stroke motorcycle. "Mat" is a Malay slang term used to address or to refer to a male person who is usually of Malay descent but is generally used derogatorily.
Organization and traits
Mat Rempits usually travel in groups and create disturbance in bustling city centres on weekend nights. Mat Rempits are usually associated with gangsterism, gang robbery, street fighting, assault, 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, most Mat Rempits do not have valid motorcycle licenses, do not pay road taxes, and ride stolen motorcycles. A growing number of housing estates have also been turned into racing tracks. It is estimated that there are about 200,000 Mat Rempits in Malaysia.
Violence
In April 2009, Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said that the Mat Rempit had become violent and brazen instead of just being a public nuisance. He said "We have to come down hard on the Mat Rempit who have started to become involved in robberies, snatch thefts and are even attacking innocent road users and we also need to use harsh tactics to catch the Mat Rempit that try to runaway from the roadblocks ." He also added that "Parents must be more responsible and should not allow their underage children to drive cars or ride motorcycles"
Mat Rempits often end up being hospitalised after they fail to perform their actions or stunts such as 'superman', 'spider' and many more. Every weekend, around 10 people are hospitalised after being involved in accidents when riding motorcycles at high speed.
According to Selangor police chief Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah, it was the parents who are the ones who should be blamed on this and while Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief, Datuk Amar Singh said that it was due to lack of parents' attention, Amar also pointed out that especially when they are in a big group, they would act beyond the limit by attacking the authorities and challenging traffic laws indiscriminately, further pointed out that their peers will challenge them to do something outrageous like assaulting police officers and challenging road rules, just to prove that they're not cowards."
Political reaction
The widespread phenomenon of the subculture has driven some politicians in Malaysia to voice out concern and need to help rehabilitate the people involved in activities pertaining to that culture. Khairy Jamaluddin and Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim from Putera ". Khairypits" should become the "Eyes and Ears" of Malaysian
In 2006, a Member of Parliament representing Jenderak, Pahang suggested that the Mat Rempit should be accepted and guided to save them from indulging in dangerous activities.
In 2008, newspaper Kosmo! reported that the Mat Rempit in the state of Kelantan would be allowed to show off their skills at a special track to be built by the state government in Tanah Merah. The then-Menteri Besar, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said amidst the criticism that the track was not a waste of money, stating:
A similar approach had been taken note of by neighbourly state Kedah, where its state government is looking into the possibility of building such an infrastructure, to "overcome the menace", saying another option was to create more job opportunities for them as most of them were jobless. The state's Chief Minister Azizan Abdul Razak said:
Notable massive operations
On 3 May 2009, the Bukit Aman Traffic Division of the Royal Malaysian Police, together with the Road Transport Department, have launched a major integrated operation to crack down on both car and Mat Rempit motorcycle illegal racing. More than 115 motorcycles were impounded in the major operation which was held simultaneously in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan.
In the media
The subculture surrounding the Mat Rempit has been the focus of numerous films and songs in Malaysia. Film depictions of the subculture began in 1984 with Gila-Gila Remaja, Ali Setan (1985), Litar Kasih (1996), KL Menjerit (2002) and its prequel KL Menjerit 1 (2005), REMP-IT (2006), Bohsia: Jangan Pilih Jalan Hitam (2009), Adnan Sempit and V3 Samseng Jalanan (both in 2010).
Songs aiming Mat Rempits
Deejays JJ and Rudy (The Morning Crew) from hitz.fm radio station have made a parody of Teriyaki Boyz's called We're Not So Furious, designed to mock Mat Rempit culture.
Mat Rempit was also the main influence for the song "Salut" by the Malaysian band, Spider, in their album Bintang 12