All About Mat Rempit

CAUSES OF MAT REMPIT

 

I will only cover the main causes why most of the teenagers in our country, Malaysia resort to become Mat Rempit.

First and foremost, peer influence or pressure. 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 teacher advice. This peer influence is very strong and sometimes dangerous if they follow the wrong path, for example the illegal racing. This is why the amount of Mat Rempit is increasing from time to time.

According to a police statistic between January to Mac (2006), most of these illegal racers are between aged from 16-25 years old. Rosmaini (2009) said that peer influence is a major factor which contributes to the involvement of most of the teenagers in Mat Rempit activity at night.

This sharing activities and experience usually start at young age where they are in the stage of knowing the outside world (out of their family) and wanting to try something new and exciting with their friends. First, they just gathered on the side of the street to see others (the street racer) do the stunts and then they get close to each other and start trying the stunts themselves and lastly, they are the star of the streets in the eyes of their friends.

This kind of influence usually brought up by the problematic friends who usually have issues in their life and also with their family

Next, the cause of Mat Rempit is curiosity for adrenalin. Meaning to say the desire to try something new and challenging. Something that had never been done before in their life. This is one factor that lured them into the illegal racing. They felt that it is very admirable and outstanding if they can win the race or do suicide skills 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. People who break the law will be classified as a cool and great person. They will be respected among all the Mat Rempit.

The next cause is family with issues in term of problematic family, rich family and also those who are from poor family as well.

First, for those who come from problematic family. Old people always said that education starts at home. From this statement, we can infer that the family should involve actively in educating their family members especially their children in becoming better person who can contribute positively to our country and also to the family itself.

However, in the issues of Mat Rempit, ASP Rizal Abdul Rahman Sidek (2009) said in an interview to him about the cases that involving the illegal racers that has been increasing these days, “ police have no prejudice against this group ( Mat Rempit) “ adding that the police know most of them are from the family with problem or issues. The example of problematic family is where the parents are getting divorce.

The one who is affected is surely their children. Their children become a victim as a result from their parents who are getting divorce. They tend to neglect their children. Feeling being neglected by their own family, these children will as a result join the gang of Mat Rempit to fell in the loneliness.

Next.for those who are from a rich family. As all know, rich family usually faces a problem with their children when the parents happen to have little time for family. When they are too busy handling their business, working at the office till midnight.

Most of the former street racers who are from a wealthy family claimed that they were given too much money and freedom by their parents or the one who cares about them is also one of the factors which contributes to their involvement in the street racing activity. They feel that none of their own family members who really care about where and what they are doing when they are out of the house. As long as they never complaint about anything in their family and will be back home everyday. They are having too much freedom from their family or the one who cares about them.

Those who are from a poor family. Not to exclude of the factor of a poor family. Hisyam (2009) quoted in one of his report that most of the street racers are of the poor family. He quoted that one of the former street racer responses that by racing, it is the only way they ( Mat Rempit) could think of to get away from the problems and gain their freedom and respect and honours from peers on the road.

Besides that, sometimes, coming from a poor family forces them to enter into illegal racing in order to get the prize offered such as the big sum of money awarded to the people who won the race. The prize offered can’t be resisted for those who are in a desperate situation. They really need the money to support their own needs as they can’t get it from their own parents.

The next main course is the place (racing track). The former racing track like the Sepang Circuit located at Sepang that can be used by the public with permission. Somehow, these young teenagers don’t really prefer to race at the legal racing track like Sepang Circuit as they claimed that it would cost them a higher expenses to buy a proper attire for their safety as well as the access fee to use the circuit. Moreover, the circuit was located too far from their place or town. As we know, Sepang is located at rural area. It will take some times to reach Sepang. For example, if they are from Subang Jaya, it will take approximately 45 minutes to reach Sepang. For alternative, they prefer to race at the main street in Kuala Lumpur instead of going to Sepang.

Low income and unemployed graduate are also the causes why they didn’t want to race at Sepang. Most of them can’t afford to pay the access feefor the existing race track like the Sepang Circuit. Moreover, the race track was located too far from their place and city. This will cost extra additional petrol that will be add up to their daily expenses.

In addition, most of them are from the low income earner so it is harm for them to pay the racing track access fee and also to maintain with their maintenance cost. As we know, the vehicle maintenance cost doesn’t come cheap. The parts are expensive. For example, in order to upgrade their motorbike to become more powerful and extraordinary, sometimes it will cost them a lump sum amount of money.

Next, the main cause of Mat Rempit is from the mass media. Mass media influence all people. Its impact on the people is massive. People are easily influence thru mass media. Mass media can be translated thru advertising, etc. Mass media influenced the Mat Rempit through film or dramas that showed about the action of Mat Rempit. For example, the film of Remp it directed by Farid Kamil contained all the stunts done by the Mat Rempit.

For example the Superman style. The Superman Style was created by Yap Yong Phui from Bandar Kinrara. The style is performed by lying down horizontally on the bike and speeding at 150kmh. Guinness world of records were amazed when they tested the results and found out the this method actually increased the speed by 20% and giving them +2 bonus when evading police roadblocks.

The Sailboat method was also a jaw-dropping skill where the rempit stands on the seat of the bike and control the bike via their feet. This method harness the wind’s energy and thus lowers fuel consumption and saving enough money to buy drugs and cigarettes, giving them -25% fuel consumption, +10% money saving, +3 bonus when there is a strong wind. Another way is where the rempit does a willy where they will carry the front wheels and ride only on the back wheel. With less surface touching the ground, they manage to lower the friction, this is the most common method and can be found on the streets of Penang almost every midnight.

And another famous style is Spiderman method. The Spiderman method is where rempits ride the motorbike in pairs. The pillion rider stands at the back of the seat. The driver gains -20% fuel consumption because the pillion harnesses the energy from the wind. The pillion rider gets high and starts swinging his hand like a propeller and thus giving the motorbike a +50% speed boost for 8 seconds. During this time, there is a 20% chance that the pillion rider will fall off the bike and suffer broken bones. This is probably the best way to enjoy rempiting if you do not have driving license.

 By seeing all this stunts in the movies, all the youngster are tempted to get involve in illegal street racing as has been seen in the movies. They practically practice all the actions seen in the movies in their reality life. They wanted to experience themselves the feelings of doing all the stunts in real life.

Parent itself is also the cause why the children involve in becoming Mat Rempit. They are some of Mat Rempit who is a product of large malay families living in low cost housing areas. Their parents are too busy putting food on the table and juggling jobs that their kids grow up with the wrong set of values.

Cramped living conditions also means that the young people prefer to spend their time outdoors, often frequenting shopping centres and street malls. In the process, they come into contact with another youth of similar background. Being young and naïve, they are easily influenced by their new acquaintance and are slowly introduce to the life of Mat Rempit. This is the starting point for them in changing their normal routine life into entering the life of Mat Rempit.

On 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.” He also added that “Parents must be more responsible and should not allow their underage children to drive cars or ride motorcycles”.

Parents and schools should encourage the youngsters to visit the games and to support our Malaysian athletes. Through the visit, they can cultivate the caring and loving spirits among youngsters. I am pretty sure that the youngsters will open their eyes if they witnessed the braveness of the disabled to face their disabilities, their confidence to live on a meaningful life and their high spirit to bring fame to our country.

Besides, parents can promote the volunteerism spirit in their children as there were many other young volunteers offered their unconditional support and helped the disabled in the games. Parents also can guide their children to respect and well-treat the disabled and thus, to develop a helpful individual in future.

The excellent performance of Malaysia team was beyond my expectations and we should increase the awareness in respecting the disabled and offer our support and encouragement to them.

Lack of religious education is al so the causes of Mat Rempit. Religious education teaches us moral value which will set up a standard way of living and to differentiate between good and bad things. Many people said that the current religious curriculum needs to be revised. Many believed that it was not updated to the current socio economic changes. Because of this, many individuals are slanted towards materialism.

And due to this, morality goes down the drain. As the parents didn’t provide proper religious education towards their children, the children tend to involve in becoming Mat Rempit as they didn’t know that Mat Rempit is a bad things and also they have no guidance in life. For them, there is nothing wrong in involving in a street racer. For them, it is one type of enjoyment inlife where they can release their tension on the road.

In addition to that, the cause of Mat Rempit is because of boredom. When boredom strikes, they will do their usual activities for example by involving in illegal racing. This is because they dream of becoming a racer. They feel happy when theu go for illegal street racing. Their motto is, “no feel no fears”. The best part is when policemen try to catch them and they believe that nothing can stop them. They believed that they are born to be an illegal racer. So that is why they participate in an illegal racing in order to fulfill their dreams.

Furthermore, when boredom strikes, they like to do a stunt and it begin from their hometown. The examples of the stunts are Superman (lying flat on the seat). The Wheelie, Whikang and Scorpion (standing on the seat with one leg during a wheelie).

A poor family in a small village has a nothing game that they could play and normally the have only a motorbike called, “Kapchai”. A son with a dream wanted to be a hero and no money to go for extreme game try to drive the “Kapchai” and from there it instill the interest in involving in this matter. From there, the journey begins. They become a Mat Rempit after some time.

In addition to that, they want to seek for honor and reputation. Satisfaction and reputation they seek among street racers despite prizes offered such a bunch of girls and lump sum money. Most street racers in Malaysia are infamous for their superman and other thrill performance on their motorbike.

 Danger is a pleasure of satisfaction when they can avoid with something thrill and nerve wrecking stunt in front of the public. They will gain their honor and reputation if they did something which will never be attempted to be done by ordinary people. They will be respected among themselves. For them, this is the best achievements in life when they will be respected by others. They feel great when they ride their motorbike in high speed.

Besides that, if they won a race for example, they will be respected by the entire racer in that particular group. Or if the news regarding their winning spread, they will also be respected by other racers. For Mat Rempit, winning a game is everything. By winning a game, they will gain honor. As for them, it is not easy to win an illegal race as they will be facing many obstacles during the race. For instance being chase by police traffic or the possibility of getting involved in an accident is higher as all the way they will be racing in higher speed in a dangerous manner. And also if there is a road block. They will be detained by the police traffic thus has to spend the nights in the jail until someone come to help bail them out.

 If they manage to endure all the obstacles, when they arrived at the finishing lane, a loud applause from the crowd will be awarded to the winner of the race. People around there will respect the winner. The winner will be treated like a king. From this, the winner will be well known for the entire night. This is what all the Mat Rempit out there dreams of achieving the reputation and honor. 

There has been a lot of talk in the mainstream media of late about the “Mat Rempit” scourge. More often than not, these commentaries are preoccupied with demonising the Rempits rather than providing a long term solution. Stiffer penalties and jail time is all very well and good but it will not put an end to this serious social problem. Nevertheless, it would seem that everyone’s prayers have been answered. Just recently, the Malaysian Police have announced that no longer will these hooligans be called Mat Rempit, but now as Samseng Jalanan (Road Thugs) who face serious jail time if caught (as opposed to the usual practice of just fining them). To this end, the Police seek to amend Section 42 of the Road Transport Act 1987 to make jail sentences mandatory.

Sounds like fun eh, but they are also known for their mob mentality (if one crashes into you on the road, expect his posse to come and beat you, and your car, up). Mob mentality aside, I can understand the thrill of going really fast, especially on two wheels. The rush of adrenaline with the knowledge that a motorbike isn’t exactly a safe or stable place to be on at high speed, can be quite addictive.

But what about motorcycle racing games? I’ve probably tried a number of motorcycle games on the Nintendo DS, but due to the platform’s limitations, you can, at most, expect a rather same-same racing experience.

Now, for motorbike thrills, you’ll need a real console. Either the one that looks like either a sandwich maker or the one that looks like an hour glass would do just fine. The game in question? Burnout Paradise.

Isn’t that the game that encourages you that crashing into other cars would actually help you win races, you ask. Yes, but the game recently received an online update that not only added a dynamic weather system, but also bikes…lots and lots of bikes.

While Mat Rempits usually stick to their 100cc or 125cc cubs, these virtual bikes look to be of MotoGP or touring class, no cub rubbish in this game. As for stunts, where else can you do wheelies into oncoming traffic in the relative safety of your own home? Even so, I wish Criterion would have given players the ability to do the “Superman” on them bikes.

Besides that, the proposal from government of Kelantan.The Kelantan government plans to build a special circuit for the state’s Mat Rempit to race and show off their stunts, which they currently do illegally all over the country’s roads and highways, endangering the life of all motorists.

Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat says the circuit will help keep the Mat Rempit menace in check, and thus will not be a waste of public funds. The idea was suggested by Kelantan’s senior police officers.

“Mat Rempit always make their mothers worry. When untoward incidents happen involving them, it’s pitiful to see their mothers, wives and children crying. We build a special circuit for them to let go their feelings and show off their prowess and heroics. The nurturing and moulding of Mat Rempit into good human capital would be done gradually. If young people want to show their prowess, there must be a suitable place for them to do so, and at the same time we inject advice and prayer into their motor riding activities,” says Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz.

Stop glorifying Mat Rempits 

 

The (North Pole Free Fall) expedition is among the latest controversial moves by Umno to engage youths, especially mat rempit, in a series of baffling activities… . This includes a 50,000-strong carnival gathering which never took off, a road trip tainted by sex and booze allegations and a proposed programme to reward mat rempit for nabbing snatch thieves

—    Malaysiakini newsreport March 10, 2007

Again and again we are sending a wrong message to the children of tomorrow concerning what good behavior for our youth should be. Wrong model.

Why are we allowing UMNO Putera to glorify Mat Rempits and reward them with something they do not deserve? Don’t these youth leaders know what education means and how to educate these ‘damaged’ youth? We do not understand what being “fair but firm” means in educating troubled youth. Worse, we do not understand the root cause of why children fail in school but graduate to become Mat and Minah Rempits or “Alongs” and all kinds of human beings alienated by the system we built together.

The 50,000 strong gathering, the name-change to Mat Cemerlang, the proposed drag race circuit, and now the North Pole jump — what are these for in the name of ‘education for good citizenship’? How many will 50,000 mat rempits multiply into in a decade? What will be the consequence for our nation already falling apart from corruption and mismanagement?

We need more than just quick fix solution to the issue of ‘juvenile delinquency’ that is getting out of control. We need a “zero-tolerance policy” on “rempitizing behaviors”.

Don’t the ministry of education know what the taxpayers want for the education system? Why not spend money preparing good teachers to prepare good curriculum and teaching strategies to deal with the children of the Millennium generation? Why not spend money making sure that all schools meet the minimum standards of technology, resources, safety, and teacher competency? Why not beef up the “rempit division” of the police force?

Why continue to arrogantly trumpet pseudo-humanistic approach to curing the disease of rempitism when there are better long-lasting ways we can employ to make sure students do not become what they shouldn’t be becoming?

The wrong model

Mat Rempit wannabes will think that even if they do not do well in school and not be disruptive, they will still grow up protected by the system created by those who want to continue to preach the “welfare mentality”. There will be youth political parties trying hard enough to negotiate with the “motorcycle gang” so that the latter can be of help in maintaining the hegemony of the ruling party.

The compromising approach towards those who “terrorize” neighborhoods, law-abiding citizens, or even rob and maim others will give more and more power to many others to follow the footsteps of the motorcycled mob. “I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse” said Don Vito Corleone of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather fame — would be the best way to describe the philosophy of how we reward these troubled youth.

A wrong model of youth education will produce more youth who will see national development through wrong lens.

Perhaps our minister of education need to spend one class period a month in different classroom settings, as an undercover substitute teacher, to understand the culture of the classroom and to make sense of why many things are failing.

Perhaps top ranking officials of the ministry without classroom experience need to take turns doing this undercover job to see why we are not producing the graduates we want. Perhaps these officials can be given a class period to teach in the urban schools and where Mat and Minah Rempits reign — schools in Puchong for example. Or they can sit in classroom in Arau Perlis where broken door, blackboard, windowpanes, ceilings ands walls welcome new students daily.

These are the real stuff of teaching — ones that ministers do not see. Many are merely interested in ‘officiating’ smart schools and have photo sessions with Microsoft’s Bill Gates or Netscape’s Scott McNealy in Dengkil — schools that will produce no Mat and Minah Rempits.

Many do not even want their children near National Service camps that has taken the lives of 19 of our precious youth to date! We now have a movement towards the three school system — public, private, and international — each catering to the degree of fear parents have towards their children’s education.

This is the lifeboat mentality we have cultivated as a nation.

But education is about hope and love. It is about modeling best practice. Where do we begin then?

 

 

 

The right model

First, we need to stop sending the wrong message. We need to reward those who are doing well academically regardless of race, and help channel their creativity through the spectrum of their educational experience.

We need to create classrooms with smaller sizes so that the needs of these children can be met according to their interest. The “small schools” movement that identify children’s career interest at an early age can be a good model to work from — schools modeled after the concept of “academies”. Let experts from the MRSM (Maktab Rendah Sains MARA) system for example help suggest good ideas on how to help our troubled youth. Next, get funding to create alternative schools for troubled youth, that would also include a course in ‘motorcycle education’.

We need to study the “ecology” of the child and the “anthropology of the modern Malaysian school” and classroom in order to ascertain why children become disillusioned in schools and declare their freedom and irresponsibility on the streets, past midnight. We need to find out where their parents are .

We need to study the socio-economic make-up of the youth at risk and ascertain the nature of psychological emotional and even spiritual derangement that is plaguing our youth. We need to hold parents accountable for their children’s behavior, not just leave already stressed and poorly-paid teachers to become “correctional officers”, while trying to create success for all.

Parents must be given trainings in what matters for their children in school and how to monitor behaviours. Schooling should be a peaceful partnership between the child, parents, teachers, and the society we wish to create. It is not about stealing the minds of children of tomorrow or the benefit of politics of the here and now.

We need to study the ecology of the media and the nature of fast changing economy to see the impact of it on the youth of today. What are the youth watching on TV? Who produces junk programs that produce the “GIGO” (garbage-in-garbage-out) mind? How did the media exploit the insecurities of our youth?

Certainly a lot to study have to be done and to be acted upon.

But first and foremost, we must study ourselves as a nation–where are we going? And–we need to stop political parties from further nurturing ‘rempitism’. There are better ways–by being fair yet firm.

Let us pray that those with “rempitised” minds do not become the next generation of our political leaders. Better still, let us curb their enthusiasm!

 

 

 

 

Newspaper cutting regarding the causes of Mat Rempit

Minah Rempit step out of boyfriends’ shadows

A NEW breed of illegal racers is menacing the streets with their daredevil stunts – and they are not boys, reported Harian Metro.

These minah rempit do everything their biker boyfriends do, including racing for thrills, money and sex.

The paper interviewed two girls, who confessed they started out by being groupies and gradually learned from the mat rempit how to do wheelies and other acrobatic stunts on their machines.

A self-confessed 17-year-old minah rempit, who identified herself as Lia, said she learned the ropes from her boyfriend.

“I borrowed motorcycles from friends and three months later I could speed up to 130kph,” she said, adding that her skills were still not as good as some other girls.

Lia, who is being rehabilitated at the Darul Islah welfare home in Selangor, claimed girls who mix with street racing gangs are likely to be “spoilt” as they eventually become the “trophies” for the mat rempit who wins the race.

“I was nearly a victim after my boyfriend lost a race and I had to spend the night with the victor.

“I refused and coaxed the winner to take my money, instead,” said Lia, who added that she regretted becoming a minah rempit.

A similar tale was told by 21-year-old Jun.

She said within a few weeks of learning to ride a motorcycle, she had plucked up the courage to do wheelies on her boyfriend’s Yamaha RXZ.

“It’s just to show off to the boys,” said Jun of the reason why the girls were turning to racing.

> Utusan Malaysia columnist Awang Selamat lamented that many Muslims had questioned the wisdom of the National Fatwa Council, which ruled that Internet investment is haram (forbidden in Islam).

The paper, he claimed, has received numerous e-mails, letters and SMSes on the matter and many of them vented out their anger and criticized the decision.

“They seemed so blinded by money that they failed to see the reasons for the judgement,” the columnist said.

> Kosmo! warned shoppers that a major supermarket chain is duping them by changing the tags on frozen foodstuff that had passed their expiry dates.

Living in fear of Mat Rempit gangs

For Prof Rozmi Ismail and Kattryn Eng, the Mat Rempit issue is more than just a cyclical news topic.

Rozmi is a Mat Rempit researcher and Eng is the mother of a victim who was attacked by a Mat Rempit gang recently.

KOH LAY CHIN listens in as they discuss the phenomenon and why, they insist, the authorities must take action.

The interview between the interviewer and Rozmi who is a Mat Rempit researcher

Kattryn: What leads them to get so involved in this?

Rozmi: I found in my study that one of the main factors is they are looking for fun.

These are youngsters who are 15 to 17 years old, most of them dropouts. Most of them work as dispatchers, factory workers, burger sellers etc. They are looking for fun, they are sensation seekers. They want the thrill and to feel excited.

Riding a motorbike is the cheapest way for them to do this. If you have RM10 or RM5, you can go round town for the whole night.

They can’t go to a hotel lounge or disco. For them, riding with their friends is cheap and fun, fun which they create themselves.

Kattryn: So from your surveys and studies, what do you think is a good way to solve this problem?

Rozmi: Firstly a very drastic action we have to take is amend the law. The punishment must be suitable; to make sure they don’t do it a second time.

Kattryn: You mean our current laws are too lenient? I’d say yes, because from what I see they keep saying it is a juvenile case all the time. After 48 hours, they let them go.

Because they are underaged, the Mat Rempit use that as an excuse.

Rozmi: Yes, they cannot be charged under criminal laws because they are underaged.

The majority of them are 16-years and below. They should be going to school.

When I interviewed them and asked them how long they had been involved in these activities, most said one to five years.

So you see the majority of them have been in this kind of life for a while.

And those who are considered hard-core Mat Rempit, they have been arrested by the police, sometimes more than three times.

But as you’ve said, they get arrested but the police can’t do anything. They get released the next day. Then it happens again next week.

Kattryn: I think it would be much better if the police were to confiscate their bikes and not give them back, you know?

Rozmi: We have to amend the law. The charge driving in an aggressive and dangerous manner should include Mat Rempit activities.

When they are in a group, they are lost in a crowd. They behave as though they can do anything they want.

Kattryn: And in the group, people are afraid. Like that day, when 20 of them surrounded my daughter, even the petrol station attendants, two of them, did not dare come out. They were scared. What can the authorities do to alleviate the real fear on the ground now, in terms of enforcement?

Rozmi: The thing is it is very difficult to identify the culprits. Unfortunately, the police can’t do much about what happened to your daughter.

Kattryn: Yes, there was no evidence. They didn’t catch them red-handed, it was very touch and go.

Rozmi: I empathise. It must be terrible psychologically, for you and your daughter.

Kattryn: Yes, that’s why when I hear the sound of a motorbike near me, I shiver! (laughs)

Rozmi: Yes, its traumatic. Perhaps your daughter needs to see a psychologist or counsellor?

Kattryn: Well in my daughter’s case, she’s deaf. She cannot hear. It’s the scene that keeps replaying in her head.

The first few days after the incident, every time she closed her eyes everything that happened was still there.

It will take time. I have been the victim of a snatch thief, you see. So I know this great fear.

Rozmi: We need political will. We don’t want to turn into a South Africa where they need security guards for individual houses, because they are not safe.

I think there are Malaysians who really feel like that now.

Kattryn: Now in housing estates, every section has its own security guards. Obviously it is not safe, and that is why we are employing these people!

Rozmi: Not safe or is it just the perception? Are we just scared and think we have to do it or is it true that Malaysia is not safe anymore? We need to tackle this and the government needs to take it seriously.

NST: What about the economic downturn? Could that be one of the reasons why the Mat Rempit are turning to crime?

Rozmi: It’s quite related because some of the workers get retrenched or lose their jobs. They need the money and where can they get it from without jobs?

Kattryn: From your survey, since you have been interviewing these people, did you ask them if they would do other activities if they had the chance?

Such as if they had football fields and places for recreation?

Rozmi: Yes, I did. I asked about that and their answer was that those activities don’t create any excitement!

Kattryn: But are they not thinking about their lives? Is it not dangerous?

Rozmi: They don’t think about that. They don’t think about the possibility of accidents, arrests by the police and all that. They don’t care, really. What they want is just seeking the thrill and grouping together.

NST: But how do you get to such a level where you just don’t care?

Kattryn: Where life doesn’t mean anything to them?

Rozmi: I found that most of them have this disregard for others. The attitude is: “I don’t care about you. I don’t care if I’m creating havoc or being noisy. What I want is to fulfill my needs.” They tend to break social norms. They try to damage public facilities, they destroy public phones.

Kattryn: Are they trying to get people to notice them?

Rozmi: Yes, you are right. They want to show the public that they exist in society.

They want to say: “Here we are. We are the Budak Shell group or some other group.”

I can list down more than 100 names of groups in different states.

They name themselves and want to show that they are there in society.

It could be related to stress and anxiety. They lose their jobs and get scolded by their parents everyday.

So they get out of the house, and find people to race with.

NST: Do they influence each other and get bigger and bigger?

Rozmi: Yes, 20 years ago Mat Rempit did not exist. There were pelumba haram, who only raced in the rural areas like Felda. Just 10 or 20 of them and they did not disturb the public.

Nowadays however, because of their sheer size, they can become very aggressive.

Kattryn: It is surprising, those numbers. It makes me just more fearful.

Rozmi: Police are also scared. When I was conducting my studies I was with them, in Ipoh, where thousands of Mat Rempit had gathered. It was a public holiday. They came from everywhere!

That night the police planned to have a roadblock but nobody actually wanted to go!

They were scared. It meant that these Mat Rempits were very aggressive.

Kattryn: So you see, if even the police are frightened, then they will just be kings of the streets, right? They will say: “Wah, the police are frightened of us”, and this will just give them more encouragement.

Rozmi: There are thousands; they can bulldoze their way through. To them, if they can run through your roadblock, it is considered a success.

They think: “I get to challenge the police”, and they become heroes that night. I was also scared, I tell you, I had never experienced anything like that before.

NST: What about complaints that this has something to do with how the Mat Rempit culture has been glamorised in movies?

Rozmi: Yes actually they play a big part. There are what, three or four big movies now?

These are actually advertisements that encourage them and give them ideas on how to merempit. And the film makers say they just want to teach or educate society on what’s happening. Well I just don’t buy or believe that.

Kattryn: So what can we do?

Rozmi: The thing is with an issue like this, when the problem arises, everybody talks about it, comments, wants to give suggestions.

When it slows down, we forget about it. But it should be high priority and at the highest alarm level now.

Kattryn: We need help from the higher levels of government, the political will to do something about this. The laws should not be so lenient. Don’t let them off so easily just because they are juveniles.

Don’t just talk. Enough is enough. Something must be done so that people can live without fear. We should live in a society where we don’t get all frightened if our children are not back by 9pm.

 

Mat Rempits have annoyed the Malaysian nation with their reckless riding and total disregard for other road users. Malaysian have complained that mat rempits take over streets in housing estates as well as main roads in the city centre for their street races that can comprise up to 100 motorbikes.

They speed, cut into lanes of other traffic users, create enormous amounts of pollution and noise and gather menacingly at traffic lights acting as if they own the roads.

When they are not racing, they are attempting stunts in open roads in a dangerous and haphazard manner for fun that often result into fatal accidents.

Such accidents occur when they are trying to ride away from the police, sometimes into on-coming traffic, and when failed stunts cause their bikes to fall over injuring or killing the rider and the pillion.

The long-suffering silent majority demands that tougher action be taken against mat rempit, since there is not a day when we do not hear of these motorcyclists and illegal racers doing something wrong on our roads.

So who are these so called mat rempit hooligans?

Mat rempit is a Malaysian term for an individual who participates in illegal street racing usually involving small motorcycles of less than 200cc, also known as Kapcai, or scooters.

‘Mat’ is a Malay slang term used to refer to a person with stereotypical characteristics of a Malay person.

The term ‘Rempit’ comes from the combination of the words ‘ramp it’; to ramp the throttle.

It also sounds like the noise made by a small motorcycle.

Most motorcycles used by the mat rempits do not meet standard specifications or have been modified extensively.

Mat rempits usually travel in big groups of over 30 bikes and race in bustling city centres on weekend nights till the wee hours of the morning.

People are giving a bad impression towards mat rempit. Why? It is because each day we will receive news that people are victimize by the act of mat rempit. Mat rempit is considered to be a crime as they are known to be the road criminal which conduct illegal racing. Illegal racing are conducted on public roads where it will endanger other road users including pedestrian.

People each day are writing to the media expressing their anger and hatred towards the act of mat rempit which affecting peoples life. However, thet number of crimes done by mat rempit are increasing and we can see that there’s no any drastic steps been taken to decrease the number of crimes occurred. Where is the government? Does police playing their role to control? Or is it the fault of the parents that does not give a good education to educate their children? Are all this the factors that leads to the act of mat rempit?

This report is written base on the current violent topic in our society nowadays; ‘Mat Rempit’. However, I may not cover all the subtopic under the issue of mat rempit. I will only cover the main causes of why most of the teenagers in our country resort to become mat rempit and I will include some recommendations which I think might be useful and helpful for our society in order to solve the issues raised or discussed in this report.

This  report  is  written  base  on  the  past  and  the  latest  newspaper  reports  and journals on the issue of mat rempit or the illegal street racers in Malaysia. The  information’s  from  the  newspaper  reports  and  journals  are  gathered  to  match  and achieve  the main  objectives  of this report which are; to see the root of the problems of what brings our teenagers to become the street racers. The extracts from the journals are also used to be analyzed and discussed in order to come out with few possible suggestions to overcome or at least to avoid the problems from happening again to our future teenagers.

Mat Rempits or unlawful motorcycle racers, who are reported in the local media in Malaysia to be linked to gang robbery, fighting, raping, theft and road bullying. Mat Rempits are predominantly poor young ethnic Malay boys from the rural villages, but city dwellers as well as young Malay girls called Mat Minahs have also joined the ranks.

To maintain their way of life, define group membership and develop contact among themselves in conversation and deviant activities, these public menace and dropouts from society have developed terms and expressions that have an origin that escape from their general use, and which outsiders cannot easily comprehend nor interpret.

Mat Rempit slang language is a mixture of non-standard Malay, English and Chinese dialect. This aspect of their language responds to a need in this group to be secretive, guarded, mysterious and defiant. One example of this slang is a conversation overhead between two groups of Mat Rempits talking about their illegal motorbike racing around town in the wee hours of the morning:

“gua lari punya moto kat selekoh Rothman … belakang satu mat sudah main gila sama gua, habis gua tangkap benganglah … belakang gua pun main-main sama dia, pulak gua ajak dia rentap, gua cakap sama lu, dia tinggal lima tiang, cirit-cirit…”

Mat rempit has been a public nuisance to Malaysia. They not only involved in illegal street racing but they also participated in gangsters, gang robbery, street fighting, assault, vandalism, theft and bullying. Mat rempit has been phenomenon to Malaysian people. The outsider will have negative thoughts over Malaysians just because of the behaviour of the mat rempits. They are a lot of mat rempits in malasian and most of them are Malays. They started at such a young age as young as school children.

 Today many people are voicing out their worries and fear towards the number of crimes that are increasing. People are living in fear where each day there will be people involve being the victim of crime. Mat rempit has become the main picture in the frame of crime. And from the act of mat rempit leads to other crimes such as robbery snatch theft, raping, etc….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 every day we heard and see their actions and news on the media.

Mat rempit is famous for not having a valid motorcycle license, do not pay road taxes and riding stolen motorcycles. Mat rempit is extreme in the sense that they are daredevils on the road. I will not elaborate on that as I am sure most of you are aware of their existence due to the hoo-haas made by certain politicians in both national and local main stream media.

Now, let us move closer to our streets here in Kuching. Although we do not have the like of a Pizza Hut delivery guy I saw in Kuala Lumpur who was popping wheelie (taking the front wheel of the motorcycle off the ground and riding with only the rear wheel) while running a red light at a traffic light junction, we do have common motorcyclists who ride their vehicles like suicidal banshees with their tails on fire.

Motorcycles and cars have nothing in common even though both are forms of transport. Some motorcyclists seem to think that their bodies are made of steel, i.e. when they fall off their motorcycles, they would not get hurt. Thus, they ride dangerously and recklessly while endangering the lives of other road users.

Why is the mat rempit the way they are today? If we were to look back in history, we would notice that many civilizations had to deal with a counterculture movement at one time or another. The most recent example of this would be the hippie movement of the 1960s in America. A counterculture is a culture with values and mores that run counter to those of established society. According to Professor Rozmi Ismail, head of psychology at the School of Psychology and Human Development at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the mat rempit number in the hundreds of thousands. So it would be fair to say that the mat rempit is a Malaysian counterculture movement. For example, its members go against social norms by refusing to observe the rule of law (i.e. snatching handbags) in order to get what they want, which is essentially a quick fix – why work towards owning an iphone when you can just steal one?

In some other countries, the term mat rempit is also used but more to refer to one as a motorcycle lover or mat motor as opposed to an illegal motorcycle racer. Sometimes, the term of mat rempit misused to refer to any individual who rides an under bone motorcycle. Related to this is mat konvoi, which claim to be the non-racing version of mat rempit.

The mat rempit however, have become violent and brazen instead of just being a public nuisance. They had become a road bullies and attacked innocent road users as they wish. These mat rempits has to come to an end before it gets more serious. Though the cases of mat rempit were serious, but Malaysian still has a chance to make things right before the country fall apart due to bad behaviour and bad influence of mat rempit. Something has to be done before they become the biggest fear of the citizen.

Vandalism is one of the effects that I believe these youngsters been doing aside from racing.

According to a police statistic, it shows that there were relatively few cases in which mat rempit were involve in crimes like destruction of property or fighting in which at this point would lead to the effect of gangsterism.

Mat  rempit  doesn’t  come  in  a  form  of  one  group.  They would form many groups or cliques which would have support each of their members in every way except when they are running from ‘The Uniforms’ (police). These cliques usually faced crisis against each other for example: money, women, territory or ethnic of group (Kelantanese, Selangorian, Perakian, etc). This would cause them to street fight under the certain event in the public. They would not care if it would involve the public but all they wanted to prove is that their power, satisfaction and reputation of their group. So basically this would cause a bad image to our country especially in the eyes of the  tourist  who came  to  have  a beautiful  vacation  with family  and  friends. How would they think of our country when they see this? And will they promote or come again for their holiday after this?

Rape is one of the serious crimes that this group usually done. They do usually have girls and money as the winning prize for each race. However, sometimes they tend to perform a crime by kidnapping innocent girl or women and take turns raping the victim without having any pity or feeling guilty doing the sin.

Murder an innocence person this day is often happens to women when they were robbed by snatcher thieves. Early this year, a pregnant woman died two days after falling from her motorcycle in a snatch theft incident in Batu Pahat, Johor and a day after that, another pregnant woman died of a same incident in Ketereh, Kelantan. The police Crime Investigation Department (CID) director, Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin (2009) said that the offender of the snatch theft cases are committed by the illegal street racers (mat rempit)  and urged  the   public  to cooperate  to  catch  this trouble  makers  to  decrease  the crimes and ease the social illness in our society.

Mat  rempit  usually  travel  in  groups  and  race  in  bustling  city  by  nights.  Most of the motorcycle used by the mat rempit do not meet standard specifications or have been modified extensively for greater speed or just to make the exhaust noisier. Because of the vehicles used in street racing competitions are generally lack of professional racing safety and the bikers are not usually trained, injuries and fatalities are common results from accidents.

Furthermore,  the  illegal  street  racers  put  the  public  users  at  risk  because  they  race  on public roads rather than the specialized place with purposely built facilities for racing. With their activities in the public, not just put the innocent user’s life at risk but it would cause all the listed problems above.

Satisfaction and reputation that they seek among the street racers despite of the prizes offered such as girl and money. Motorcycle street racers in Malaysia are infamous for their “Superman” and other thrill performance on their motorcycle. Danger is their pleasure of satisfaction when they can avoid it with some thrill and nerve wrecking stunt in front of the public.

The government must find the root cause of the mat rempit problem to find an enduring solution. Before we can find the solution to this problem, we have to identify the major or the root cause of this problem to arise at the first place.

Anything could be the possible answer to the question. Sometimes, the government itself in a way encourage the mat rempit to continue with what they have been doing and somehow being supportive over mat rempit.

It shows how the government had made a slight mistake as they labelled the mat rempit as mat cemerlang. This term had been introduced by Khairy Jamaluddin who was UMNO youth deputy chief. It was said that the UMNO are setting up clubs for mat rempit. With mat rempit being called as mat cemerlang, wasn’t it will increase the number of mat rempit in Malaysia?

This political influence will only produce more mat rempit in the future. This will not make the mat rempit scared but it will make them more proud to be labelled as mat rempit and to be established as the king on the road.

They will not be frightened to do any wrong things and without thinking about the other road users they will conquer the road and make their own circuit. This will only make them more powerful and more proud of what they have been doing because they have being supported by the government to do such activities.

This will not decrease the number of violence created by the mat rempit but it might be increased due to the increasement of mat rempit.

As been stated before, UMNO youth will set up a club for mat rempit around the country in an effort to reach out to the youngsters and change society’s negative perception of them. This club is only a small group of the bikers raced illegally or broke the law. The idea of setting up a club for mat rempit clearly shows that the government and the politicians were being supported over mat rempit and somehow encouraging mat rempit to do more crazy and wild things and to do public nuisance.

They said that the club will produce a better quality of mat rempit. But this is almost impossible to happen because it is the nature of mat rempit to cause nuisance and public disorder and to make people’s life miserable.

They said that by introducing this club to public, the society will change the perception over mat rempit. This thing is not going to happen as the mat rempit will get the chance to meet the other mat rempit from all over Malaysia and eventually they will share their skills and exchange all the experiences that will only heat their spirit and encouraging them to do more illegal racings.

This is somehow will make them more enthusiastic to try even more new things which they have learnt through the discussion among the mat rempits.

The other reason for mat rempit to be so proud to continue what they have been doing because the state of Kelantan and Kedah were planning on building a circuit and track for mat rempit to show off their skills on the right path so they say. The state government said they were considering on building a circuit for mat rempit so they will not waste their abilities and skills. At least they have the right track to race and do menace on the road without disturbing others.

This is again shows how the state and the government shows their so called concern to the mat rempit. This will not help to solve the problem. This will only bring the chaos among the society as the number of mat rempit will be increased.

This should be the major concerned. Not planning on build some circuit and track for those who were wasting their time and time and do bad things. They should be governed by law and the punishment should be imposed to those who bring the chaos to the society.

A member of Malaysia’s opposition, the Democratic Action Party, and author of 29 books mostly about Malaysian issues, Lim Kit Siang was especially disgusted by Mr Singh’s incident.

He is one voice that is loud and clear about mat rempit-ism. In his blog, Mr Lim cites reports on the rampage and violence of mat rempits in the country. One report shows that they are not afraid of authority. Mr Lim blogged that two mat rempits attacked a police station with petrol bombs in the late hours of the night as they were not happy with the police having a road block. In another incident, a group of ten mat rempits turned violent and attacked a police car and a few policemen when a favourite area of theirs was blocked by traffic police. Mr Lim voiced his concerns saying they create fear among peaceful and law-abiding Malaysians as well as visitors with their lawlessness and contempt for the rights and safety of others. He is also concerned that they are giving the country a bad name. The general consensus shows that Malaysians are sick of them and want them to be stopped. There is even a petition online calling to stop the mat rempit culture. However, the government thinks otherwise.

This will only make the mat rempit’s society become enlarge and they will become powerful. Hence they will have no more fear to do any illegal act. This will become the major problem in the Malaysian society and it will give the bad impression of other countries towards Malaysian generally. And this will only contributed to economic loss as the number of the tourist will be decreased as a consequence of mat rempit.

However, will this track or circuit for mat rempit will be the solution or will only create more problems in the future. The idea of building a track for mat rempit is not a good idea as it will only give privileges for those who have money to pay for the rent of the circuit to race on that track. For those who are penniless, they will still do the illegal racing on the public road without taking into account the public and other road users.

The former racing track like the Sepang circuit can be used by the public with permission. Somehow, this young teenagers don’t really prefer to race at the legal racing track like Sepang circuit as they claimed that it would rather cost them a higher expenses to buy a proper attire for their safety as well as the access fee to use the circuit. Moreover, the circuit was located too far from their place or city.

Most of them cannot afford to pay the access fee for the existing race track like  the  Sepang  circuit,  moreover  the  race  track  was  located  too  far  from  their place and city. In addition most of them are from the low income earner so it is hard for them  to  pay  for  the  racing  track  access  fee  and  to  maintain  with  their  bike maintenance cost. As we know, the vehicle maintenance cost doesn’t come cheap.

To pay the money for their bet for every race itself is not a small amount, they will get their money back if they win, but not, if they don’t. Continue their living  with  no money  can  lead  them  to  other  crimes  such  as robbery,  snatching women’s handbags and this may comes in a package of leading to a more serious crime such as killing without intention.

One Malaysian politician, Putera UMNO Chairman Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, said for example, a representative from a Honda motorcycle and car dealer was impressed with the riding skills of these mat rempits.

The representative was also amazed with the engineering skills of the mat rempits, boosting the speed of the motorcycles to 180 kilometres per hour considering that the company’s engineers were having difficulties in achieving a speed of 120 kilometres per hour.

So, in an effort to harness their potential, the government has come up with a plan to deal with the mat rempits; much to the amusement and fury of Malaysian bloggers.

This idea is the re-branding of the mat rempit name. According to Bernama, UMNO wants to change the mat rempit name, with its negative connotations, to Mat Cemerlang (meaning Excellent Mat). They hope this will alter the nation’s thoughts of these hell riders into a positive one.

It was also reported that UMNO will reward the nuisance mongers with new motorcycles if they can catch over 30 snatch thieves.

Hopefully, this will encourage the mat rempits to help curb crime and become an asset to the nation. Bloggers are still not impressed and see the attempts by UMNO as unfavourable to the general public.

They complain that the government wants to hire the mat rempits for their own political agenda, particularly to become ‘spies’ for UMNO.

Their question is “Why reward and favour criminals when they should be taught a lesson?”

Mat rempits are a public nuisance that must be stopped. The debate of the mat rempit continues and will carry on doing so as long as they remain a threat to the public and the government comes down softly on them.

However, who knows if the attempts by the government to include them as a positive figure will work? If it does, then a lot of Malaysians can breathe a sigh of relief and have something to smile about.

In short, the government and the politicians are helping the mat rempit to grow their population in Malaysia by supporting them as mat rempit and labelled them as mat cemerlang.

Another cause that can contribute to the floodgate of mat rempit is the attitude of the mat rempit itself. As a grown up person, they should have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.

They should have the idea on how to manage themselves. Not to destroy their future by doing such a stupid thing i.e. joins the mat rempit. This has brings no benefit at all to any of them. They should have known that this is illegal and they should not fall into it.

They should have bear in mind what they should and should not do. They must have been thought about ethics, moral values and good behaviour.

Even in every single religion in this world teach each and every single follower about good deeds and the punishment in the hereafter. People who commit sin even though he might be escape the punishment in this world, he will have to pay for whatever bad deeds he had done in the hereafter.

The mat rempit have no fear of what the consequences of their actions. The parents should have play important role in this situation in regulating their children. It is not that every child in Malaysia involved in this illegal activity.

But they might be a potential mat rempit by peer and media influence. Thus, parents should know what their children do, where they go, with whom they mingle with and what kind of people their children mingle with. However, the parents should not necessarily being over protective and not to let their children to have any friend.

The parents should have play important roles in moulding their children. The children are the gift from God thus the parents should appreciated them and should give them adequate moral needs. It was said that the children actually reflected their parents. If the children act in good behaviour, it shows that they were being brought up well by the parents.

Hence, the parents should spend more time to the children and give them unconditional love and affection towards the children. This is because, lack of care and love from the parents can somehow make the children being rebellious just to show that they need the attention from the parents. And, this is also may lead to mat rempit.

Usually, these mat motor ride their motorcycle in a hazardous manner just because they wanted to show their dissatisfaction towards the parents who did not give enough love and care. The mat rempit mingle with another mat rempit just because they feel that it is the only place where they belong with. They have the friends who share the similar passion and they feel welcome when they are in that group.

However, this just lead to a serious problem in the society when they are actually misused the group of friend they have. They should have not channelled their anger towards parents in such a way. They should have confronted the parents instead of mingle with wrong choice of people. Thus, the parents play the most important role in guiding their children to the right path.

Old people always said that “education starts at home”.  From  this statement,  we  understand  that  family  should  involve  actively  in  educating  their family  members  especially  their  children  in  becoming  a  better  person  who  can contribute positively to our country and their family.

However,  in  the  issue  of  mat rempit  ASP  Rizal  Abdul  rahman  Sidek (2009) said in an interview to him about the cases involving the illegal racers that has been increasing these days; “police have no prejudice against this group (mat rempit).” adding that the police know that most of them are from the family with problems or issues.

Rich family usually faces a problem with their children when the parents happen to have too little time for family. Most of the  former  street  racers  who  are  from a  wealthy  family  claimed that they were given too much money and freedom by their parents or the one who cares about them is also one of the factors which contributes to their involvement in the street racing activity.

They feel that none of their family members who really care about where and what they are doing when they are out of the house. As long as they never complain about anything in their family and will be home every day. Having too much freedom from family and one who cares about them hence, they decided to get the pleasure from outside the house through illegally street racing.

Not to exclude of the factor of a poor family, Hisyam (2009) quoted in one of his report that most of these street racers are of the poor family. He quoted that one of the former street racer responses that by racing is the only way they (mat rempit) could think of to get away from the problems and gain their freedom and respect and honours from peers on the road.

The parents should provide their children with good moral behaviour and adequate religious background so that the children would not go astray. To provide the children with good behaviour, the parents should also act in good behaviour.

The parents should be the best role model for their children to follow. Religious background could at least stop the youngsters from doing such a bad thing. They will at least given a thought about following such thing as they knew to differentiate between good and bad.

Another main cause of mat rempit is peer influence or peer pressure. According  to  a  police  statistic  between  January  to  May  (2006),  most  of these illegal racers were from aged 16 – 25 years old. Rosmaini (2009) said that peer influence is a major factor which contributes to the involvement of most of the teenagers in mat rempit activity.

This  sharing  activities  and  experience  usually  starts  at  young  age  where they  are  in  the  stage  of  knowing  the  outside  world  other than their  family and wanting  to  try  something  new  and  exciting  with  their  friends.  First they just gathered on the side of the street to see others, the street racers do the stunts and then they got close to each other and start trying the stunts themselves and lastly, they are the ‘star’ of the streets in the eyes of their friends. This  kind  of  influence  usually  brought  by  the  problematic  friends  who usually have issues in their life or their family.

Self interest could be one of the main causes of the illegal street racing. Every teenager is eager to try new things. Anything that they think are challenging for them. Some likes to play safe and be a good kid but some just don’t. They wanted to do wild things and get themselves into trouble without just cause or excuse. They just wanted to have fun. This is the fun of being young and fresh. Being at the state of teenager, they are not afraid of confronting fear and injury whereas they dare to do anything as long it satisfies their soul.

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 do suicide skills such as riding in the high speed or get away from the police road blocks. They just love to break the laws since they think that it is just an amusement for them. Somehow they find it cool to do stunts and to escape from the police because they find it rather challenging to do so.

This is when the peer influence plays the most important role because teenagers usually tend to follow their friends rather than to listen to their parents. Hence, if the wrongly mingle with mat rempit, they will be easily follow the gang of mat rempit and become one of the member.

Another cause of mat rempit is the light punishment imposed to such illegal street racer. The government should have implemented a severe punishment for those who join the illegal street racing as in the present situation, it also involves in other serious crimes such as snatch theft and road bully.

The government should have taken this matter or rather problem seriously. This mat rempit should be governed by written law that will benefit the public. This is because they are violating the rights of the public generally.

Seriously, this is the major problem in Malaysia and yet the government keep on delaying to solve this matter. This is somehow giving the chance to the mat rempit to enlarge their empire and become even more powerful than the authorities. The law has to be stricter and it should be imposed.

It is deplorable that the mat rempit menace has been allowed to continue without a political will to resolve it, further aggravated by the patronage which some influential personalities in power has accorded to mat rempits for their own political agenda.

The culture of contempt for the law and impunity for the lawlessness of mat rempits have gone on for too long and the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance calls on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is also Internal Security Minister, to give his personal attention to wipe out the mat rempit menace subverting law and order, creating fear among Malaysians and visitors about their personal safety and giving the country a bad name internationally.

The Prime Minister must be reminded that a national situation where mat rempit lawlessness and violence are rife and rampant is not only a threat to the safety and security of Malaysian citizens, but would drive away investors, tourists and foreign students.

How can the government expect to succeed in making Malaysia an investment centre, a tourist haven or an international hub of academic excellence to attract foreign students when the government is incapable performing its most fundamental duty which to ensure the personal safety and security of its citizens and visitors.

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.

However, not to say that the children can do whatever they wish to do. The children must know the limitations when it comes to friends. They must bear in mind that the parents put their trust on them, thus do not let their trust drown in the drain once the children get involved in bad activity such as mat rempit.

The children should have make use of their youth to enjoy their time and do good things. They should use their time to do things that can bring more benefits than involved in illegal street racing. They should have participated in much healthy activities. They should have make use of the facilities provided by the government to fill their leisure time with friends.

The mat rempit hence should change their attitude. They should think about their future. They might be excelled in their studies if they do not involve in this illegal racing. They might be next leader of Malaysia. Who knows? In order to achieve such things, they should first change their attitude and mentality and quit from be one of the mat rempit.

Mat rempit should have think about their future and ask themselves whether they will forever be as a mat rempit or they will eventually changed and be a better person. They should post such questions to themselves to make them realize the importance of life. Life is not just about racing and motors. Life is more than that. They should appreciate the life. If not they would not get the benefit or they would not get any lesson from their life. If they do not appreciate their own life so as other people. Hence, in order to make people appreciate them, they at the first place should appreciate their life.

It is useless if we just babbling around and blaming them for all the problems although some of them caused some serious cases. We, as a Malaysian should collaborate and cooperate with each and every one of us to track back how this thing happened and find a solution to solve it.

The mat rempit should be thankful as we are not treating them like trash even though they had caused many serious problems in the society. After all, this bunch of people is our country’s next apprentice or might be our potential leaders for the country. If they still do not change for the better future and to improve them and us, as the citizen keep on blaming them without doing anything, then we are the one who should be blamed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article on Mat Rempit 

Mat Rempit lawlessness – time for PM to give personal attention to end menace.

The Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance has received a complaint from the latest victim of mat rempits — Manjit Sokhai, 43, a Canadian consultant from Montreal who comes to Malaysia three to four times a year in connection with his work. Manjit was driving his four-wheel drive along Jalan Rasah, Seremban at about 11pm on Saturday Oct 20, with three friends from India when he was confronted by some 40 mat rempits on motorcycles, who assaulted him and went on to damage his vehicle, smashing the rear lights, wipers and number plate. Manjit is here and he will give you his traumatic encounter with the mat rempits.

Mat rempits going on a rampage, causing harm to innocent people and property, has become too common an occurrence.

These were some of the reports in the mass media in the past two months on mat rempit rampage and violence in the country:

1. Merdeka celebrations took a nasty turn at Dataran Hadhari, Teluk Batik, Perak early 1st September 2007 when some mat rempits reacted violently against the police by wrecking one patrol car and breaking the rear window of another. This happened at 1.30am when a police inspector tried to detain a man, sparking angry protests from more than 100 mat rempits, who surrounded the police car, kicked its doors and ripped off the radio antenna. The police officer escaped unharmed.

2. A senior citizen, Yusoff Abdullah, 69, was knocked and killed by a mat rempit in Pasir Tumboh, Kota Bharu early morning on 8th September. The mat rempit who hit Yusoff, Ahmad Fuad Ariffin, 19 also died on the spot.

3. Two mat rempits who were not happy with police having a road block attacked Merbok Police Station in Sungai Petani with petrol bombs at about 1am, 27th August 2007. Nobody was injured.

4. A group of ten mat rempits turned violent and attacked a police car and a few policemen in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur, a mat rempit favourite spot early on the night of 30th September 2007. When they were blocked by the traffic police, they turned violent and attacked the police before leaving.

5. Mohd Fairus Abdul Aziz, 21, a restaurant worker was killed after he fell from his motorcycle in Jalan Tun Razak near the US Embassy where he was surrounded and kicked by five mat rempits at about 5:40 am on 11th October 2007. Fairus was about to send her girl friend home after work when he was surrounded by the mat rempits who wanted to take her girl friend away.

6. Wan Asmadi Wan Ahmad, 36, a senior officer from Road Transport Department Enforcement Unit was hit by a Mat Rempit in an Ops Sikap XIII operation in Jalan Sultan Idris Shah, Ipoh at about 10:15 pm on 21st October 2007. His legs were broken and he suffered serious head injuries.

These are some of the reported cases, which is only the tip of the iceberg of the fear they created among the peace-loving and law-abiding Malaysians, as well as visitors with their lawlessness and contempt for the rights and safety of others.

It is deplorable that the mat rempit menace has been allowed to continue without a political will to resolve it, further aggravated by the patronage which some influential personalities in power have accorded to mat rempits for their own political agenda.

The culture of contempt for the law and impunity for the lawlessness of mat rempits have gone on for too long and the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance calls on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is also Internal Security Minister, to give his personal attention to wipe out the mat rempit menace subverting law and order, creating fear among Malaysians and visitors about their personal safety and giving the country a bad name internationally.

The Prime Minister must be reminded that a national situation where mat rempit lawlessness and violence are rife and rampant is not only a threat to the safety and security of Malaysian citizens, but would drive away investors, tourists and foreign students.

How can the government expect to succeed in making Malaysia an investment centre, a tourist heaven or an international hub of academic excellence to attract foreign students when the government is incapable performing its most fundamental duty — to ensure the personal safety and security of its citizens and visitors?

(Media Conference Statement in Parliament on Wednesday, 24th October 2007)

 

 

Newspaper article on Mat Rempit.

Remaja Perkasa Negara aims to tame Mat Rempit.

BERNAMA

Submitted by masami on Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Saturday, February 6th, 2010 10:25:00

KUALA LUMPUR: The Remaja Perkasa Negara programme will kick off on March 1, with the aim of instilling positive attitudes and tackling social woes among teenagers, especially ‘mat rempit’ (daredevil motorcyclists), said the prime minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

Rosmah, who is the National Permata Policy executive committee chairman, said with cooperation from the police, about 300,000 teenagers who had violated the law were identified as potential participants in the programme.

However, she said so far only 15 had agreed to participate in the two-month programme which comprised camping, motivational and outdoor activities.

“It’s difficult to get teenagers, especially those involved in the ‘mat rempit’ activities, to participate in the programme.

“So, we will start with these 15 teenagers first. God willing, the others will follow suit,” she told reporters after chairing the Permata Negara Policy Committee meeting at her home here Friday.

Rosmah said the committee was also planning to submit a proposal to the government to have several legislative amendments done to enable juvenile convicts to participate in the programme, as part of the punishment.

Meanwhile, three Anak Permata Negara centres would be set up at three parliamentary constituencies in every state nationwide this year.

Rosmah said however, the land in some states could not be acquired to build the centres due to technical problems.

“We also could not get approval from the state governments of Selangor, Kedah and Penang,” she said, adding that to overcome such problems, the committee would try to purchase houses from private developers to set up the centres.

Rosmah said the Permata Negara programme had been expanded to 427 kindergartens nationwide under the First Economic Stimulus Package and almost 16,000 children from rural areas and low-income families had benefited from the programme so far.

 

 

Newspaper article on Mat Rempit.

‘Mat Rempit’ Speed Fiends Prefer Street Races.

By Mohd Hisham Abdul Rafar

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) — Despite the authorities’ move to allow non-professional racing at the circuits in Sepang and Pasir Gudang, the act by the street speed fiends or popularly dubbed as ‘mat rempit’ continues to sizzle and hot up.

There is no lack of action available for these illegal street racers particularly at the Sepang International circuit which hosts events like the Malaysian Super Series (MSS) on the weekend.

To race in that event, those with motorcycles of 250 cc (power) and above are required to pay RM100 each while for bikers with machines of below 250 cc in power, the fee is RM70 each.

Hence, claims that these road racers have no place to let off their steam can be regarded as baseless as it appears that the mat rempit prefer to race at their ‘street circuits’.

Kuala Lumpur Senior Traffic Investigating Officer ASP Rizal Abdul Rahman Sidek said despite the many facilities, the mat rempit appear not to be interested.

MAT REMPIT

 

“Police have no prejudice against this group. We know that most of them are from families that have problems,” he said, adding that under the law the name mat rempit is non-existent, only that the media had coined the term.

“Mat rempit always claim that they have no venues to race, but that is only an excuse. They took part in the illegal races in order to build their reputation apart from getting the gratification”.

Rizal said this during a forum “Dunia Mat Rempit: Masyarakat Terhimpit (World of Mat Rempit: Troubled Society) at the Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) here recently.

FORMER STREET RACER
A former mat rempit, Syairul Azahar Alias, 24, who spoke at the forum, said they were not really that choosy over the venue for the racers.

 “We only want to be free and by racing in the streets we get the satisfaction that we seek and the reputation that we received,” said the Auto Bavaria Berhad technician.

He said the prize, which came in the form of women and money, was only secondary as the priority was the honour and reputation.
Syairul Azhar also denied that the road racers were out to get public attention.

“We never care whether there were people watching us in action. We took to the streets whenever the other mat rempit gangs challenged us to a street duel.

“In the world of mat rempit, there were many gangs. They raced to show that who were more superior.

“Even though there is danger, the honour is more important,” said Syairul Azhar who had stopped being an illegal racer for some three years.

 

SON OF MUEEZIN

Meanwhile, another former speed fiend, 32-year-old Rosmaini Abdul Rahman, agreed with what Syairul Azhar had said.
The son of a muezzin of a mosque in Kuantan, Pahang, Rosmaini went into street racing at the age of 16 years and stopped from being involved in this illegal activity when he became badly ill.
According to Rosmaini, seeing action at ‘legal’ race circuits gave the mat rempit no pleasure, neither thrill nor satisfaction. This was compounded by the fact that they had the race fees.

“Like what Syairul had said, the prize is only secondary. What is more important is the

reputation,” said Rosmaini who is now are religious class teacher.

Asked on whether flaws in the family institution had anything to do with the issue, Rosmaini said there was none, instead peer influence was a major factor.

PEERS PREASSURE

 

“No family problems had pushed me into being involved in this menace. I became involved due to influence by friends. Having too much freedom was also another factor,” he said.

Meanwhile Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye lauded the call by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) for amendments to be made to the Road Transport Act 1987 to curtail the activities of the illegal street racers.

Among others, the police want a stiffer penalty on mat rempit involved in the illegal road racing.

Meanwhile, president of a motorcycling club, ‘Kelab RD’, Azhanyzam Zakaria said such a move would be a good measure but would not be enough to curb this menace.

When contacted, he said the authorities should consider creating another race circuit for the mat rempit, a place closer like in Bukit Jalil apart from imposing a stiff penalty on the offender.

NEARER CIRCUIT
In Azhanyzam’s opinion, a race circuit located at Bukit Jalil should be able to reduce the number of illegal races on the streets in the city.

“Bukit Jalil is nearer to the city as compared against Sepang. They (mat rempit) do not like it (Sepang) as it is too far (from the city). However if they still participate in illegal racing, then the authorities should give out stiff punishment.

“Seizing or impounding their motorcycles is not the answer as this could lead to more crimes like motorcycle thefts. Furthermore, most of them came from troubled and poor families,” he added.

— BERNAMA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Newspaper Article on Mat Rempit

DAILY DISPATCHES: Demonising the Mat Rempits & fellow sub-culturists into oblivion

2009/07/21

Azmi Anshar

IF there is a conjoint device melding Government policies together these days, it is the proclivity to wage all kinds of wars within. Thin as it is, declarations of war have been entreated frequently, from war against drug abuse in the 1970s to war against money politics/graft. There are also wars against corrupting Government officials, smoking and poverty, but they have been beseeched for so long that there seems to be a buoyant feeling of complacency.

For all the preaching, sermon and haranguing, corruption is still sickeningly rife, aggravated by the political campaign to emasculate the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission over Teoh Boon Hock’s calamitous death. Smoking is still an institutionalised addiction (millions of smokers are cavalierly blasé with the graphic pictures of deformed babies and decimated lungs adorning their 20-packs).

Poverty is relatively indistinguishable – they who live in rural villages, they who reside in slums, they who squat in commercially rich plots and they who rent in council flats all cry foul over unmanageable cost of living, where subsistence is defined by the unexciting food they eat and the trifling entertainment they get by the inability to subscribe to Astro, hence the swarming of DVD pirate movie stores.

Then there are the blockhead elements within the intelligentsia just itching to declare a pseudo-war against Singapore for the preposterous exigencies the republic had imposed on Malaysia (crooked/third bridge, KTM land, water supply, buyout of Malaysian firms etc). Such affirmations remain their fantasist’s wet dream as they are unable to reconcile with the reality that Malaysians of all ages and stripes throng bullishly to the island for retail therapy of specialised goods not stocked in the supermalls of Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle and an entertainment vivacity that is surprisingly offbeat and enjoyable.

If anybody cares to remember, the authorities kicked a fuss in the mid-1980s over heavy metal music on sins that the disciples’ way of life undercut some people’s handle on their religiosity, not realising that the music, fashion and attitude were simply phases in youthful temperament. In any case, the heavy metal persecution petered out as the adherents adopted a new wave that kicked up a fresh firestorm – grunge. That was that.

Just last week, it was yet another war, this time against DVD movie pirates destined to fail again because Malaysians have too much invested in the transgression. Now following-up rapidly this week was the yet-a-new war against the sub-culture, this time against the so-called collective depravity of the Mat Rempits, cross-dressers, transvestites, gays, lesbians, bohsia and tomboys.

This time, the war against this particular species was launched by the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry which invoked a two-month ban that prohibits filmmakers from showing Mat Rempit and men in women’s clothes in their movies. By the way, the ban has the endorsement of police, no less than the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan whose earnest letter to the Home Ministry tell the problems of how police have to vault to high alert each time a Mat Rempit movie is making the cinema circuits.

Orthodoxy is now climbing on a high pinnacle of indignation and that means the sub-culture, while the outrage simmers, have to operate further and further underground. But why the wrath against the Mat Rempits, whom police have re-classified as “road thugs” and more incredulously, against vulnerable people of the other sub-categories demean by the ministry?

Mat Rempit is the colourfully colloquial description of testosterone raging young men riding with intimidating speed on small capacity motorcycles, terrorising the easily-spooked folks in the major cities. Said to reign in about 200,000 strong nationwide, the Mat Rempits didn’t start out as thugs as they are derogatively characterised and they did not nurture themselves to commit thievery or other unlawful acts. All they did was ride and race, illegally on the spanking highways.

Let’s humanise the typical Mat Rempit. They are actually a side-effect of socio-economic policies that failed to keep them and their families afloat. Away from the road thug stigma, the Mat Rempit squats in a small house or rents a council flat no bigger than a commercial chicken coop, in a tight fit with his parents and siblings. Privacy is privilege he cannot afford nor accorded, and being almost always the eldest child, he shares everything and he is usually the one having to sacrifice most.

Uneducated, unappreciated and unrecognised, he works in a lowly clerical position or flips burgers or is dishearteningly jobless. Having low purchasing power for sophisticated luxuries most of us take for granted, his devaluation nonetheless inspires him to invest carefully, painfully and laboriously in the one thing that gives him a reason to get away from the drabness and dreariness of his home life and circumstance – an affordable 100cc motorcycle which he pays through his nose and then expertly soups up to take to the streets, sniffing out the romance of the easy rider, freedom from the slavery of monotony and the thrilling risk of entangling with the law.

He quickly gangs up with like-minded comrades and before you could scream “bloody motorcycle gangs”, they formalise themselves as the poor cousins to the more notorious American biker outfits, the Hell’s Angels. Where a Hell’s Angel is burly, hairy, menacingly gruff and obsessively private, the Rempit is waif-like, hairless, menacingly annoying and irritatingly rowdy, especially when they ride in a big, precocious posse. The dissimilarity is hilarious.

Attempts have been made to clean up their act. Putera Umno tried a makeover of their derogative name, to change it from Mat Rempit to Mat Cemerlang (Excellence) and to make them the “eyes and ears” of police. It obviously didn’t work out, otherwise why would the police prefer the terminology of road thug, a more convenient categorisation. Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat, bless him, suggested a race track for the boys to show off their riding skills and heroics and also alleviate worry on their mothers. Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak even went to the extent of offering jobs for the boys.

So, if the likes of Umno Youth, and the Kelantan and Kedah Governments can see salvation for the Mat Rempits, why can’t the police envision a similar tact? And in their single-mindedness to clean the streets of these “terrors”, popular culture is the unfair side effect.

This national-security-at-all-cost rigidity also creates a prejudice of sorts against the boys. Again, they didn’t start out wanting to become thugs if not for their depressive socio-economic condition though there are some exceptions to the rule, of young men with better background seeking the thrill of an outlaw rider. Humanising the Rempits are not an excuse for their reported thuggery but a friendlier approach could have been conceptualised, and not at the expense of artistes’ creativity and ability to tell a story.
The Information, Communications and Culture Ministry is more unforgiving to the sub-culturists: they have this skewed idea that the gays, tomboys, the cross-dressers and the transvestites are such menaces to society that a one-size-fit-all policy to criminalise them is the ideal solution. Perhaps they need reminding that people don’t grow up wanting to become gay or wanting to live the alternative lifestyle. If they could switch to “normal”, whatever that means, they would do so in the time it takes to change their mind.

 

The sub-culture is there to take the pressure off a variety of human conditions that is impossible to obliterate, if they want to expunge it in the first place. The derision against the sub-culture of Malaysian life is also a reflection of unyielding and facetious thinking among policy makers.

And this is where the socio-education system has failed the people who have no recourse but to turn to the sub-culture for help, community and solidarity because they were simply unable to meet the demands and snotty standards of a very unforgiving and intolerant society.

The star

Saturday February 6, 2010

Course for Mat Rempit

KUALA LUMPUR: The Permata programme to rehabilitate Mat Rempit or biker gang members will start on March 1 although only 15 out of the 30,000 have agreed to participate.

The two-month Program Perkasa Remaja is to be introduced by Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.

The Prime Minister’s wife said the two-month programme would proceed although a handful of the bikers had agreed to participate so far.

“We decided to name the programme Perkasa Remaja (Youth Empowerment) because we wanted to brand the project in a positive way,” she told a press conference at the Prime Minister’s private residence at Jalan Langgak Duta here yesterday.

Rosmah, who is also the Permata Negara Policy Working Committee chairman, said the bikers were identified with help from the police who then forwarded the names to the programme organisers.

“The programme will be interactive and akin to an outward bound school. Since the bikers like to take on challenges, we will give them some challenges,” she said, adding that it was free-of-charge for the participants.

As for the Permata Negara early childhood care and education programmes, Rosmah said three centres would be set up in three parliamentary constituencies in all states this year.

“Although we have selected the areas to build the centres, we are not able to get the land approvals from the state governments of certain states,” she said, naming the states as Selangor, Kedah and Penang.

She revealed that the Permata Insan programme will also be introduced and is targeted at children from religious schools.

“The programme’s core subject will be Islamic education but students will also be required to learn science, geography and creative writing,” she said.

Those interested to apply can log on to http://www.permatapintar.edu.my for details.

Malay Mail – Friday March 13, 2009

Don’t give in to criminals

AT what point does society cease to care? At what point does it throw up its hands in exasperation and give up?

The issue of Mat Rempit has persisted for so long that it is becoming

FLASHBACK: Our report yesterday

pointless to be outraged: We reported yesterday that two women were brutally assaulted by the same gang of miscreants within 15 minutes of each other and the per­petrators appear to have got away scot free once again.

We should admit that for now we arc at the mercy of these thugs after all, instead of devising ways to apprehend them and make a terrible example of a selected few, we choose to alter our lives in order to deal with them.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall, for example, is mulling the possibility of banning motorcyclists altogether from the Bukit Bintang area in a bid to reduce snatch thefts and crime, but by accepting Mat Rempit as a valid part of our existence, in the same way as we accept corruption and mismanagement, we give up as a whole and admit that we are powerless to stop them.

The oft-used justification that crime is not rising is no longer tenable when the police and the mayor of the nation’s capital publicly contemplate banning a certain class of vehicles from one of Kuala Lumpur’s wealthier districts such a move is unprecedented and, while it is an understandable reaction, it is nonetheless an admission of defeat in the face of desperation.

This desperation also puts us on a slippery slope that win end only in an admission of impotence by 0 institutions and the decay of the very fabric of our society.

If we retreat inwards, ‘when will we stop? Will we be tempted to ban motorcycles from housing estates? Will gated communities residen­tial prisons – be the norm? Will the children of the future know nothing of the indepen­dence of their parents and grandparents simply because it is unsafe for them to travel anywhere unaccompanied?

Or will we begin to find vigilante justice to be the acceptable alternative? If the police are powerless to deal with the Mat Rempit menace, can we then blame frightened citizens for taking the law into their own hands? And if we allow this, again we must ask: Where will it end?

The course appears to us to be very simple and clear;…The law”must come down hard on the Mat Rempit.

Perhaps, as some politicians claim, they are simply mis­understood creatures; so let us then accept them for what they truly are: Vicious crimi­nals who revel in dictating to us where we can and cannot go and who can or cannot ride their motorcycles in places like Bukit Bintang.

If we retreat on this matter, we will encourage them to greater atrocities.

A combination of stiff legal penalties, therefore, as well as merciless enforcement and incentives for change are of the utmost necessi!y now and we no longer have the luxury of time to wring our hands in pathetic wonder at what to do.

Illegal motorcycle racers must face an immediate revocation of their licences, imprisonment and community service this is, in fact, what hould have done in the first place.

To carry out such objective should neither be a challenge nor an added burden to the authorities, for what is policing if people can be rohbed, beaten and even killed in our streets by bands of illeducated gangsters who are emboldened by each outrage -they perpetrate?
Again we call on the authorities to act quickly, before the public decides to dish out its own brand of justice.
(News articles is taken from Malay Mail Newspaper)

Rempit: Effect on Community

 

            On 7^th May 2009, sadness surrounds 2 families in Johor and Kelantan (picture below) as 2 pregnant women dies in the hands of snatch thieves. In Penang, a senior citizen also has the same fate as the 2 pregnant women. The issue of illegal racing throughout the country has not been solved; already we are given these problems to deal with. The citizens are aware that these “mat rempit” are becoming more and more dangerous, as a result of what happens to a mechanic that was beaten up by them in Kuantan. Maybe that was their fate, but incidents like that can be curbed by earlier preventative procedure.

The police have classified these “rempits” as road thugs. In 2009, it is reported that there approximately 200,000 reigning “rempits” nationwide. They didn’t start out as thugs and thieves as they are negatively characterized themselves. All they did back then was ride and race, illegally.

            These “rempits” are actually a side-effect of socio-economic policies that failed to keep their families and themselves afloat. People are busy dealing with the effect of these “rempits” cause when the real truth is that the people themselves that cause it, economically. Most of them squat in a small house or flats (refer chart below), living in a tight fit with their families (refer to chart next page). Based on the chart on the next page regarding their status, it is not surprised that majority of them is single since most of them who were arrested mostly teenagers. However, there were reports that married ‘rempit’ couples were also detained. Imagine what their sons and daughters will think of their parent’s action.

They were also uneducated, unappreciated and unrecognized. By means of education, they are knowledgeable in terms of the bikes and engines likewise. Most of them only have secondary-school-qualification (refer chart below). As a result, most of them work as lowly clerical position by day and burger flippers by night and riders by midnight. Meanwhile, most of them would prefer a job that is bikes related. For example, dispatches (refer chart next page). With jobs like that, their purchasing power is at an all time low. As a result, an affordable 100cc motorcycle is worth investing on. Later on, that investment pays with illegal racing, betting, gangsterism and so on.

            From the chart at the previous page, it showed that most of the respondent’s father are retiree and self-employed. There were also who is still studying. Based on the statistic above there are two things worth noting:

• According to Narimah (1993), families that are high-learned and have good salary are more prone to communicate with each other than those of low-learned and low salary.
• According to Ritchie (1991) a situation where the higher the education of the parents, the less control power over the children. This brings more interaction between the family members.

From these two views, it is clear that parents do play a role in determining the children’s personality and attitude. What parents must do to protect their kids is to monitor the friends of their children. Since one of the reason that a teenager become ‘rempit’ is because of peer pressure, it is best to make sure they choose their friends right.

            Speaking of gangsterism, there are many organized group of “rempits” (refer chart below). While some of the groups are just for convoying around town, others have delinquent objectives. In an interview with a member of an organized “rempit” group in Pulau Pinang named “Matakaji”, these groups often acts as rivals and competitors towards each other. Basically, in an illegal race, it’s a team against team competition. Besides racing, they also involved in many gang-related crime of vandalism and snatch theft. In a newspaper report (Harian Metro 16 September 2007, below), 3 members of the famous group ‘Apache Sereng’ were interviewed.

There are several information worth noting about the group:

• Active in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Perak, Pulau Pinang, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka.
• Every territory has a leader
• Recruit mostly teenagers in school
• Used the web to increase members
• Members must pay RM10-30 for fees
• Other than illegal racing, involved in stealing motorcycle and snatch theft

 

There are several attempts made by politicians to clean up their act. As far as those attempts and ideas concerned, they usually having not to be converted into action. In other words, they did not walk the talk. These are several examples worth noting. As far as ‘action speaks louder than words’ concerned, it is also worth noting that these are just some talk, without the walk.

Again, it is stressed that they didn’t start wanting out to become thugs if not for their depressive socio-economic condition. Not to mention that boys who seeks the thrill and challenge to be an outlaw rider (refer chart below). Therefore, a friendlier and earlier approach should be taken. Staying on the national level, the Information, Communications and Culture Ministry is being more unforgiving on the sub-culturist namely the homosexuals. People don’t grow up to be homo’s the first place. This should also be applied to these ‘rempits’. Besides that, the media against ‘rempit’ seems to be overrated. This would give them the confidence of doing it because in some way makes them famous.  Unless it is impossible to obliterate, or if they want in the first place this would be insanely stupid.

Despite the weird attempts and ideas to aid this cancer of society, the government right now is doing their best to change the law of punishment against them. The current law is that they are being sent to jail for three years. This existing law does not seem to have much effect on them. Most of them have been summoned (refer chart below) and have tasted jail time (refer chart A next page). Therefore, the government, in their proposal for a new law, wanted the punishment of canning and community service. According to them, the only way is to shame them. The present law against snatch theft will also be amended. The present law of it required that thieves are not required to pay the compensation for the victim. Besides that, any illegal alteration to motorcycles and cars will be seized by the police. How efficient or will this method work, the people will have to wait and see.

Chart A

Chart B

            According to the statistics above (refer to chart B previous page), most of them caught by the police with no valid license. This brings the issue of early-teen involve in illegal racing. It is unsurprised that most of them range from an average age of 14-20 (refer chart below). Basically, they are made of growing up and un-matured teenagers. This brings us to the earlier issue of ‘people don’t grow up to be mat rempit’. So if they do, there must be something wrong during the process of growing up. While one corner blames he parents and the other blames the teachers and the other blames the peers. Regardless of those blaming, all of us needs to co-operate. Besides that, one need to have an awareness of rempit is dangerous. This means that putting in every child’s conscience that rempits are criminals. Blaming each other will prolong the problem.

            The issue of rempit is a serious and endless matter. Even the name “mat rempit” itself is being debated by fellow professionals (refer survey below). Some wants to change it because the name ‘rempit’ makes them ‘glamorous’. According to the police the name ‘rempit’ has given them a ‘glamorous’ image. With the statistics of them committing crime keeps rocketing along the chart, now wonder their image become more and more glamorous. With every rising statistic, their confidence and bravery to commit crime also rise at the same time. For them, the most delinquent is the most respected.

            Both of these charts above show that they have suffered accidents from the racing. Most of the injury is small injury while they are others who suffered serious injury. However these reasons will not stop them from quitting. This research also reveals that most of them raced 1 to 5 times per week.

            An illegal race is not complete without the rewards. Money seems to be the most famous among them and according to the chart women is also being bet in a race. They even have a term of calling these women.

Extravert

                        Extravert means the personality that loves to socialize. It is discussed before that they are prone to race because of their friends. In other words, peer pressure. Individuals that have a high value of extrovert and high neurotic tend to have a negative impact on self. As a result, it will affect the people around them including parents and family members. In addition to this, there is also a reverse group of the extrovert which is the introvert. The introverts are more to a loner, less spirited and less communication. By less communication it does not mean that they are anti-social, depressed or shy, but they don’t need much stimulation from their surroundings than those of the extravert. Based on the research, most of them are extrovert. This means that they tend to show-off their bravery even though what they did is dangerous to self and the society.

Agreeableness

                        Persons who have this value tend to have elements of trusting other people, straight forward, care, empathy, mannered and soft-hearted. Does people under this value are easily influenced? From the previous research by McCarae, it shows that Malays have a high value of agreeableness. From the chart above it is clear that most of them have this value and it shows that they have a knack to work in groups, co-operate with each other and also to compromise with each other. It is not surprised that most of these ‘rempits’ have this value since most of the arrested were majority Malay. How this will affect the community is that other races will look down on the Malay race.

Openness

                        From the research, it shows that their personality of openness is low. Therefore, they are not interested in something new. Besides that people who have this value is not so intellectually curious in some things. They tend to compare themselves to others. By that the way they think is considered as individualistic and less confrontation.

Conscientiousness

                        From the research, it is clear that most of them have the personality of conscientiousness. People who have this personality have a high value of self-awareness. They tend to act according to their mind-awareness. However, there’s a problem to those how have this personality. They are workaholics and have a kind of attitude called “obsessive compulsive perfectionists behavior”. In addition they are also regarded as less exposed to the surroundings.

Conclusion

                        On the findings above, from the research and interview that has been conduct, most of the teenagers are racing because of personal pleasure. This is caused by their personality to try new things by dangerous means. Besides that their personality shows that they love the challenge. Most of these teenagers feel more openly with friends rather than their parents. They also share their problems with their friends rather than their parents. When they stumble upon a problem their friends are at the top of the help list. This situation means that they are closer to their friends than their parents. This means they trust their friends more. As a result of peer pressure, they tend to show-off their riding skills to their friends and sometimes challenged them. For them it is motivational and attracts attention. That is their way of pleasuring. One of the issues worth noting is that most of them are Malay teenagers age 17 to 25. Most of the arrested ‘rempit’ doesn’t have a valid license while the research shows that they tend to race a lot.

MAT REMPIT AND SOLUTIONS

 

Mat Rempit is a Malaysian term for an individual who participates in illegal racing on street, usually involving underbone motorcycle (colloquially known as kapcai) or scooters. Not all Mat Rempit are involved in street racing; some of them perform crazy stunts for fun, such as the wheelie, superman (lying flat on the seat), and scorpion (standing on the seat with one leg during a wheelie).motor

In recent time, Mat Rempits have been linked to gangster, street fighting, vandalism and theft. Most motorcycle used by the Mat Rempit do not meet standards specifications, or have been modified extensively for greater speed, or just to make the exhaust noisier. Some of the Mat Rempit do not have valid motorcycle license, do not pay road taxes and ride on stolen motorcycles. On 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.

Build special circuit for Mat Rempit

Many steps have been taken to solve this problem. The existence of Mat Rempit can be considered as social problem and being harm to the society and the safety of the other road user. Government bodies and non-government organizations still trying to solve this problem. On third of May 2009, the Bukit Aman Traffic Division of the Royal Malaysian Police, together with the road transport department, has launched major integrated operation to crack down on both car and Mat Rempit motorcycles illegal racing. More than 115 motorcycles were impounded in the major operation which was held simultaneously in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Penang.

The Terengganu state government is allocating RM5 million for programs to tackle the Mat Rempit problems next year. State Youth and Sports committee chairman Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Said said besides the campaign to instill awareness on the dangerous illegal motorcycle racing, programs would be carried out to ‘tame’ the racers. This huge allocation showed that proactive measure by the state government to prevent youngster from getting involved in unhealthy activities.

The allocation for human capital development for youth had been outlined under the youth development plan 2009-2013 for the purposes. The RM5 million are included for the construction of youth business complex in each parliamentary constituency in the state. The government also provides loans through the youth cooperative. According to Datuk Abdul Rahin Mohd Said, state government had allocated RM30 million for youth development programs in the Budget 2010.

 The Kelantan government plans to build a special circuit for the state’s Mat Rempit to race and show off their stunts, which they currently do illegally all over the country’s roads and highways, endangering the life of all motorists. Menteri Besar of Kelantan, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat says that the circuit will help keep the Mat Rempit menace in check, and thus it will not be a waste of public funds. The idea was suggested by Kelantan senior police officer. The nurturing and molding of Mat Rempit into good human capital would be done gradually.[1]

The Kedah Government is looking into the possibility of building a circuit for Mat Rempit (illegal motorcycle racers). Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak said building a circuit was one of the options being considered to overcome the Mat Rempit menace. A study will be conduct to see if the circuit in Kelantan has effectively curbed the menace. Azizan said another option was to create more job opportunities for mat rempit as most of them were jobless. On another matter, he said the state would work closely with Pemadam and the police to check drug abuse. Azizan said the state government would also revive the village head system as the existing Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) had been put under the purview of the federal government. JKKK in Kedah is now known as JKKP (Federal Village Development and Security Committee). Azizan said the village heads should attend to the problems of all villagers regardless of their political beliefs.[2]

To address the Mat Rempit problem, the Melaka state government is building the International Go-Kart track near Ayer Keroh for RM12 million and this is expected to be completed by this December. We are currently in the process of awarding the tender to the most qualified company to manage the track. We hope that by providing a suitable venue and adequate awareness, illegal racers will not use the roads as their racing tracks. The state government hopes that these facilities will not be misused and abused by treating them as illegal race tracks and as an outlet to vent their frustration. People should instead be grateful for the conveniences provided by the government which will form the necessary infrastructure to support and improve the economy.[3]

The usual formula for anyone who breaks the law to enforce arrest and punish. It seems that while other criminals face strict punishments, Mat Rempit who are criminals by definition of law because of their dangerous behavior on roads somehow get the benefits of nurturing. Mat Rempit always make their mother’s worry. When bad incidents happen involving them, it is pitiful to see their family crying. By build special circuit for them, perhaps they can used it to let go their feeling and show off their heroics.

New TV Program for Youths to Voice Opinions

Television is a good medium in conveying information. Youth in this country should have place to express their feeling and opinion. According to BERNAMA (Malaysian National News Agency) report on January 3^rd 2009, youth in this country will soon have the chance to voice their opinion on various issues trough a television program called ‘Rentap Minda’. The talk show organized by Malaysian Association of Youth Clubs (MAYC) will be on air once a week over Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) channel starting from this March.

MAYC president, Suraya Yaacob said that the program would be a platform for youth to share their thought with society, thus showing the better image of Malaysian youth. This program is created to give the youth opportunity to voice their feelings, and it is believed that many Mat Rempit out there also have some constructive views to share. The program can also help improve the public speaking skills of youths, while the youth leaders will be able to interact with the participants who are youth club members, for better understanding of current issues.[4]

The Remaja Perkasa Negara programme to instill values in youth.

The Remaja Perkasa Negara programme will kick off on March 1, with the aim of instilling positive attitudes and tackling social woes among teenagers, especially ‘mat rempit’ (daredevil motorcyclists), said the prime minister’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. Rosmah, who is the National Permata Policy executive committee chairman, said with cooperation from the police, about 300,000 teenagers who had violated the law were identified as potential participants in the programme.

However, so far only 15 had agreed to participate in the two-month programme which comprised camping, motivational and outdoor activities. It’s difficult to get teenagers, especially those involved in the ‘mat rempit’ activities, to participate in the programme. So, the program will start with these 15 teenagers first. God willing, the others will follow suit. The committee was also planning to submit a proposal to the government to have several legislative amendments done to enable juvenile convicts to participate in the programme, as part of the punishment.

Meanwhile, three Anak Permata Negara centres would be set up at three parliamentary constituencies in every state nationwide this year. However, the land in some states could not be acquired to build the centres due to technical problems. The state governments of Selangor, Kedah and Penang do not give approval yet. Adding that to overcome such problems, the committee would try to purchase houses from private developers to set up the centers. The Permata Negara programme had been expanded to 427 kindergartens nationwide under the First Economic Stimulus Package and almost 16,000 children from rural areas and low-income families had been chosen to participate.[5]

Send Mat Rempit for rehabilitation

Sending Mat Rempit for rehabilitation is an option police are looking at. Inspector General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan said keeping the illegal road racers at the rehab centre for some time could stop further menace from being created on the road. Adopting the enforcement approach all the time is cannot be done because sometimes it is not very effective as they will repeat the activities despite the punishment. He welcomed a proposal from Home Ministry to set up a joint committee between the relevant ministries and department to tackle the Mat Rempit menace.

The Mat Rempit can be sent to rehab center such as ‘Rumah Sahabat PERKID’. Selangor Darul Islah Welfare Organization, PERKID short, has been registered as a charitable non-government organizations (NGOs) in 2000 with the Registrar of Societies, Malaysia under the Societies Act 1966 and regulations Organization 1984. PERKID adalah merupakan ahli Majlis Kebajikan dan Pembangunan Masyarakat Selangor, iaitu sebuah badan kerajaan Negeri Selangor yang bertindak sebagai penyelaras dan perunding bagi pertubuhan-pertubuhan kebajikan sukarela di peringkat negeri.PERKID is a member of the Council of Social Welfare and Community Development Singapore, a Selangor state government body that acts as coordinator and consultant for voluntary welfare organizations at the state level.

                 

Rumah Sahabat PERKID is a rehab center for boys teenagers 13-25 years old who is involve in social problem such as runaway from home, playing truant, drug addict and Mat Rempit. The treatment takes 18 month to finish. The rehab center is situated at Dusun Tua , Hulu Langat, Selangor.

Tujuan PERKID ditubuhkan adalah untuk mencapai matlamat-matlamat berikut : PERKID established goal is to achieve several goals such as upholding the system of Islamic medicine and rehabilitation to address the problem of social ills that are being swept society today2.,Memberi pembelaan dan perlindungan kepada para pemuda dan pemudi Islam yang terjebak dengan anasir-anasir yang tidak sihat. provide defense and protection to young men and young woman trapped by the Islamic elements that are not healthy and do activities of da’wah to society aware about the dangers of moral decline and social ills, the disadvantage of all parties. PERKID also cooperate with all parties, whether government bodies, private and voluntary bodies to tackle social ills that swept the nation and society. [6]1.Menegakkan sistem perubatan dan pemulihan secara Islam bagi menangani masalah gejala sosial yang sedang melanda masyarakat masakini.

Putera UMNO will set up clubs for the Mat Rempit 1.Menegakkan sistem perubatan dan pemulihan secara Islam bagi menangani masalah gejala sosial yang sedang melanda masyarakat masakini. 

Putera UMNO will set up clubs for the Mat Rempit around the country in effort to reach out to the youngster and change society’s negative perception on them. UMNO youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin said only small group of the bikers raced illegally or broke the law but this had give rise to the general perception that they all posed a problem to society. The clubs will gives the youngster a sense of belonging and the movement would use the platform to create awareness on the hazards of negative activities like drug activities and juvenile delinquency. The Mat Rempit will be taken to the Road Transport Department (RTD) to get them to register for licences. Those who join the clubs will be asked to share this knowledge with others like them.[7]

 

SENSE OF BELONGING: Khairy (in red), UMNO youth deputy chief clasping hands with one of the 1,500 Mat Rempit who gathered at Dataran Merdeka before going on a convoy around Kuala Lumpur Friday night. 

 

Road Safety Campaign

i. The Police and Public Bank Cooperate for “Anda Bijak, Anda Selamat” Safety Campaign.

The Polis DiRaja Malaysia and Public Bank decided to join forces to help address in part the Mat Rempit problem amongst the youths of the country. Hence this “Anda Bijak, Anda Selamat” Safety Campaign – a joint PDRM-Public Bank Social Responsibility effort. The campaign was officially launched today by the Inspector-General of Police, Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Musa b. Dato’ Hj. Hassan at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre witnessed by Public Bank’s Founder and Chairman, Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow and more than 1,000 guests, including students from 20 schools in the Klang Valley.

The “Anda Bijak, Anda Selamat” Safety Campaign is aimed at inculcating and educating the young, especially the school children and school leavers, on the importance of proper road usage and abiding by road safety regulations, and upholding high morals. Several programmes will be launched nationwide in conjunction with the campaign, including the distribution of 50,000 booklets on Road User Information Guide to schools through the Ministry of Education. The booklet demonstrates also to the young readers the adverse consequences of flouting the law.

Tan Sri Teh and Tan Sri Musa both expressed during the launch that the nation’s youths require very much the support of all – the family, schools and community to provide them with proper guidance in order that they may become the nation’s assets tomorrow. It is therefore hoped that the launch of this PDRM-Public Bank Safety programme will create greater awareness amongst the young and the community on the importance of safety and being law-abiding, thus addressing some of the social ills affecting the country today. [8]

Inspector-General of Police, Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Musa b. Dato’ Hj. Hassan at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, with Public Bank’s Founder and Chairman, Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow

ii. Ops Sepadu Drives KL Crime Rate Down

Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm (I) Datuk Abu Samah Mat said that the result of the recent campaign against crime known as Ops Sepadu has achieved a 19% drop in the city’s crime rate. He said robberies, vehicle and snatch thefts have been reduced and 2,852 people have been arrested. Among them were 678 foreigners and 59 Mat Rempit. The campaign involved 450 police officers, assisted by other enforcement agencies, were able to arrest people involved in drug-related offences, fighting, rioting, prostitution and immigration-related offences. 976 knives and dangerous objects and over 200 vehicles were seized as well. Public feedback revealed that they were affected by the traffic congestion caused by roadblocks and spot checks conducted by the police but would extend the operations until 16 June 2009.[9]

 

iii. Malaysia International Road Safety Exhibition (MIREX 09)

The inaugural Malaysia International Road Safety Exhibition (MIREX 09) will make its debut at Malaysia International Exhibition & Convention Centre from 13-16 August 2009 with visiting hours on from 10.00am to 6.00pm. The first exhibition of its kind in the region, organized by Mines Exhibition Management, MIREX is set to make waves in the future. In line with the government’s objective to reduce road fatalities and injuries, MIREX represents a precious venue for education as well as communication for everyone on road safety and at the same time serves as a business platform for exhibitors and promoters alike.

The four days event will host a variety of activities including an international road safety seminar managed by JKJR, safety driving demonstration by Continental Sime-Tyre, live demo on side parking by Metro Driving Academy, an indoor bicycle circuit managed by Road Safety Marshal Club, free vehicle inspection by AAM, tips for car care, sale of car accessories and road safety products, stabilizers bars from chassis specialist Ultra Racing, i-Past Reverse demo by Akaya, tyres, promotions on vehicles, a community based road safety campaign and many more. A police counter for settling of fines will also be available to the public.

iv. Shell Motorcyclists Safety Campaign

Another effective road safety awareness project is the Shell Motorcyclists Safety Campaign which is targeted mainly at Motorcyclists in universities, youth groups, and electronic factories. Two events were conducted annually with the assistance of MKJR, local government authorities, the police and road transport departments in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan and in Kangar, Perlis. The campaign involves: The campaign involves safety checks on motorcycles, Attires lectures on safety, riding skills, Fuels, LUBRICANTS, rules & regulations and practical skill training to impart the finer points of safe handling and controlling of machines and a safety riding competition to test defensive riding skills on public roads.

Road Safety Education

i. MKJR and Unilever collaborate to educate Gombak District students on road safety.

Recent studies by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) revealed that motorcyclists comprise 49% of road users in Malaysia. From that figure, more than 60% of road fatalities involve motorcyclists between the ages of 16 and 35 years of age. These deaths are not just heart-wrenching for families as they are in the prime of their lives, but the nation also suffers as people in this age group are also the greatest contributors towards the country’s economy.

Believing that education is key to avoiding such tragedies, Unilever (Malaysia) Holdings Sdn Bhd (Unilever) in collaboration with the Malaysia Road Safety Council (Majlis Keselamatan Jalan Raya or MKJR) today organised a ‘Safe Travel Awareness Day’ for secondary school students from the Gombak district. Hosted by SMK Rawang, this one-day event featured a series of interactive talks, exhibitions and a road safety demonstration. Targeted at secondary school students who ride motorcycles to school, the event aimed to educate the teens about the importance of defensive driving and safe travel habits.

A total of 350 students from 21 schools in the Gombak district who ride motorcycles to school were present. Based on the experience of developed countries, the role of private sector in supporting government programmes and policies on road safety is an important and critical ingredient to ensure the effectiveness of such initiatives. Based on the experience of developed countries, the role of private sector in supporting government programmes and policies on road safety is an important and critical ingredient to ensure the effectiveness of such initiatives.[10]

ii. Traffic Shell competition

Safety education is of primary importance in our country which suffers high incidence of road accidents. Safety education is of primary importance in our country which suffers high incidence of road accidents. For more than four decades, the Shell Traffic Games (STG), a Shell innovation brought to Malaysia in 1957 after it had been introduced and proven successful in Holland and other European countries, is considered one of the major educational tools in road safety awareness for the young. For more than four decades, the Shell Traffic Games (STG), a Shell innovation brought to Malaysia in 1957 after it had been introduced and proven successful in Holland and other European countries, is considered one of the major educational tools in road safety awareness for the young. This project has also provided an opportunity for Shell to form a smart partnership with Road Safety Council (MKJR) and other government agencies including the police, education departments, road transport department and the local authorities as well as the Auxiliary bodies. Traffic Shell competition was introduced 51 years ago with the objective of educating teenagers in Malaysia importance of road safety including forming caring attitudes as drivers or pedestrians and enhance awareness of values prudent driving. Speaking at the ceremony, Datuk Ir. Wahiruddin Wahid, Pengurus Besar Hal Ehwal Korporat, Shell Malaysia berkata, “Shell menaruh harapan semoga pengajaran “Shell Traffic Games“ dapat menanamkan rasa tanggungjawab dalam jiwa pelaja-pelajar supaya menjadi pengguna jalanraya yang berhemah apabila dewasa kelak. Wahiruddin Wahid, General Manager Corporate Affairs, Shell Malaysia said that Shell may hope teaching Shell Traffic Games can instill a sense of responsibility in students lives- road users to be prudent when adult. Hopefully, awareness and attitude importance on the implementation of road safety will help reduce accidents on roads and highways. This competition is organized every year by the Road Safety Council and state joint venture with Shell Malaysia and the full support of the state government, state education departments, municipal councils, the police department and road transport, department information and government agencies that other.“Pertandingan Lalulintas Shell merupakan salah satu program tanggungjawab sosial yang terkemuka yang dianjurkan oleh Shell Malaysia bersama-sama dengan agensi-agensi kerajaan pusat dan negeri.  Setiap tahun Shell memperuntukkan sejumlah RM2 juta demi mendidik pelajar-pelajar sekolah dalam aspek-aspek keselamatan di jalan raya,” berkata Datuk Wahiruddin. Competition Traffic Shell is one of the leading social responsibility programs organized by Shell Malaysia, together with government agencies and central states. Every year Shell provides some RM2 million in orders to educate students in aspects of safety on the road. As a responsible corporate body, Shell is confident that this investment is brilliant because every time a safety lesson this will be the future savior of lives. Each year, from March to November, a total of 40.000 students in Malaysia and over 2,000 teachers, police traffic officers, organizers and promoters-official will take part in the success of the winner of this competition. Kini selepas 51 tahun, lebih dari sejuta pengguna jalan raya mendapat manfaat dari Pertandingan Lalulintas Shell ini. Now after 51 years, more than one million road users will benefit from this competition Traffic Shell. One part in programs involving Shell Traffic Competition students passed the written test. Secara praktikal atau ujian atas trek, pemain akan diberikan mata merit apabila mematuhi undang-undang jalan raya. Or practical test on the track, players will be given merit points when law-abiding road. Hadiah-hadiah diberikan kepada sekolah-sekolah yang memegang pencapaian rekod  keselamatan lalulintas terbaik.Prizes were awarded to schools that hold the best traffic safety record of achievement.Sekolah-sekolah terbaik bagi kategori sekolah rendah dan sekolah menengah kemudian dijemput untuk mewakili negeri masing-masing ke peringkat kebangsaan Pertandingan Lalulintas Shell.[11] The Shell Traffic Games in progress   Enforcement of Law   Pulau Pinang PDRM Contigent has form 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 dangerously, was set up on January 4, 2008. Since the existence of this squad more than 2 years ago, the squad has chalked up high number of success against the Mat Rempit menace. The squad members would go for undercover to track these gang’s locations 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’s members. Police will take stern action on parents of Mat Rempit and road bullies. According to Perak Chief Police Officer, Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah, police will act sterner with parents and guardians of teenagers below the age of 18 years old who got involved in illegal racing. Effort to fight illegal racing by enforcing the law was not enough without the cooperation of the parents. Police will immediately call and demand that parents take appropriate steps regarding their children including giving stern warnings to their children. Their motorcycle also will be seize if found guilty.

 “Pertandingan Lalulintas Shell merupakan salah satu program tanggungjawab sosial yang terkemuka yang dianjurkan oleh Shell Malaysia bersama-sama dengan agensi-agensi kerajaan pusat dan negeri.  Setiap tahun Shell memperuntukkan sejumlah RM2 juta demi mendidik pelajar-pelajar sekolah dalam aspek-aspek keselamatan di jalan raya,” berkata Datuk Wahiruddin.

Rakan Muda Development Department.

Youth development division

Objective
To develop Malaysian youths who are mentally, physically and spiritually balanced; responsible, independent, patriotic, with high voluntary spirit in contributing towards the nation’s development and well being.

Vision
The Malaysian youths to be ready for global challenges through positive values, knowledge, skills, ethics, patriotism, voluntary spirit and quality lifestyle.
Mission
To build a generation of Malaysian youths who are outstanding in leadership, entrepreneurial and management skills by instilling  positive values and a healthy lifestyle to strengthen the national integration and identity in line with Vision 2020.

Functions

• To organize relevant educational and training programmes for the youths in all sectors including the private and public sectors, youth organizations and NGOs.
• To strengthen the on-going leadership and personality development programmes such as self- confidence, family institutions, spiritual and community, in order to produce responsible youths.
• To enhance entrepreneurship and ICT training programmes to provide the necessary facilities and business opportunities for youths to be more independent and able to create an excellent career path.
• To strengthen the youth associations/organisations to increase participation and support from the young generation.
• To instill values such as volunteerism and patriotism; understanding of globalisation as well as international relations amongst youths.
• To encourage and implement activities as well as provide facilities for a healthy lifestyle. [12]

 

 

 The self

a- Optimism

Generally, high risk young people tend to struggle with negative self-concepts and with low self-esteem and self efficacy. They have biased attributions and that these biased attributions influence their perceptions including self perceptions. Providing interventions to modify biased attributions is a reasonable prevention approach. One of the best primary prevention programs was developed by Seligman and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania.

Optimism is anability to think positively about one’s situation and future even in the face of difficulty. People who are optimistic believe that they can achieve their desired goals and make changes in the lives necessary to achieve their goals. Optimism includes self-talk skills so that when one experiences set back, he or she is able to reason through it and not catastrophise the outcome. When people do badly, they typically ask themselves, “Why”?

There are three components to the answer to this question: who is to blame? How much of life will be undermined? And how long will it last? The first component attaches blame to the self or to the world. The second and third questions how pervasive are the cause and how permanent is the cause – govern what people do to respond to failure. Feeling bad about one self does not directly cause failure. However, the belief that problems undermine everything in life and that problem will last forever cause people to stop trying. By contrast, optimists characteristically employ an explanatory style in which they think the bad event is temporary, limited to the specific event and with many possible causes other than themselves. This cognitive mind-set saves the person from stress and mobilizes energy toward constructive goal. When a positive event occurs, an optimist characteristically thinks that he or she had a personal hand in causing the outcome and that is pervasive and permanent. Thus, the three critical dimensions used to explain why any particular good or bad event happens are personal, permanent and pervasive. 

Rational-emotive behavior Therapy – Ellis’s rational emotive behavior therapy, the oldest and probably best known of the cognitive therapies, is based on belief that people need to change their faulty thinking and correct irrational beliefs to lead healthier, happier lives. Ellis (1996) suggests that emotional disturbances are the result of illogical emotional disturbances cause from cognitive or thinking process around an activating event. Ellis recognized, however, that emotion is complex and is tied to a variety of sensing and respond processes and states. The major assumption of REBT is that thoughts create feelings. In other words, it is them. Ellis argues, however, that it is the assumptions about the event or the failure – the thoughts about it not the event itself- that cause the depressed feeling. Ellis (1985) proposes an A-B-C-D-E mood as a cognitive intervention strategy. The youth learns to recognize the activity event (A), the corresponding belief (B) about the event, and the emotional and behavioral consequences (C). The counselor then helps the young person to dispute (D) the old belief system and attend to the new emotional and behavioral effects (E) of more rational thinking.

At- risk teenagers develop many irrational ways of thinking. Theses irrational thoughts lead to maladaptive behavior. Cognitive restructuring efforts are designed to help young people recognize and change their irrational beliefs into more rational ones. Attainment of this goal requires a confrontive and supportive counselor who is able to actively engage the client (Ellis: 1996).

b- Self-esteem and self-concept

For most teenagers, low self-esteem results in only temporary emotional discomfort (Damon 1988). But in some teenagers, low self-esteem can translate into other problems (DuBois, Felner & Brand 1997; Usher & others 2000; Zimmerman, Copeland 7 Shope 1997). Low self esteem has been implicated in depress on, suicide, delinquency and other adjustment problems (Fenzel 1994; Harter & Marold 1992). The seriousness o the problem depends not only on the nature of the teenagers’ low self esteem but on other conditions as well. When low self-esteem is compounded by difficult school transitions or family life or by other stressful events, the teenager’s problem can intensify[13].

Self-esteem is the global evaluative dimension of the self. Self-esteem is also referred to as self-worth or self-image. For example, a teenager might perceive that she is not merely a person, but a good person. Of course, not all teenagers have an overall positive image of themselves. Self-concept involves domain-specific evaluations of the self. Teenagers can make self-evaluations in many domains of their lives- academic, athletic, appearance, and so on. In sum, self- esteem refers to global self- evaluations, self concept to more domain-specific evaluations[14].

Investigators have not always made clear distinctions between self-esteem and self-concept, sometimes using the term interchangeably or not precisely defining them. Measuring self-esteem and self-concept hasn’t always been easy, especially in assessments of teenagers (Wylie 1979). For many years measures were designed primarily for children or for adults, with little attention given to teenagers. Susan Harter (1989b) developed a separate measure for youths:  the Self-Perception Profile for Youths. It taps eight domains- scholastic competence, atelic competence, social acceptance, physical appearance, behavioral conduct, close friendship, romantic appeal and job competence- plus global self-worth. The youth measure has three sill domains not present in her child measure- job competence, romantic appeal, and close friendship[15].

Some assessment experts argue that a combination of several methods should be used in measuring self-esteem. In addition to self-reporting, rating of a youth’s self-esteem by others and observations of the youth’s behavior in various settings could provide a more complete and more accurate self-esteem picture. Peers, teachers, parents and even others who do not know the youth can be asked to rate the youth’s self-esteem. Youth’s facial expressions and the extent to which they congratulate or condemn themselves are also good indicators f how they view themselves. For example, youths who rarely smile or rarely act happy act revealing something about their self-esteem. One investigation that used behavioral observations in the assessment of self-esteem shows some of the positive as well as negative behaviors that can provide clues to the youth’s self-esteem. By using a variety method and obtaining information from various sources (such as the youth, parents, friends and teachers), investigators probably can construct more accurate picture of the youth’s self-esteem[16].

Physical appearance is an especially powerful contributor to self-esteem in youth. For example, in Harter (1989a) research, physical appearance consistently correlates the most strongly with global self-esteem, followed by peer social acceptance. Harter also has found that the strong association between perceived appearance and general self-worth is not confined to youth but holds across the life span from early childhood through middle age. And in one recent study, youth’s self-concepts regarding their physical attractiveness were the strongest predictor of their overall self-esteem (Lord & Eccles 1994)[17].

Two important sources of social support that contribute to youths’ self-esteem are relationship with parents and peers. In the most extensive investigation of parent-child relationships and self-esteem, a measure of self-esteem was given to boys and the boys and their mothers were interviewed about their family relationships (Coopersmith 1967). Based on these assessments, the following parenting attributes were associated with boys’ high self-esteem: expression of affection, concern about boys’ problems, harmony in the home, participation in joint family activities, availability to give competent, organised help to the boys when they needed it, setting clear and fair rules, abiding by these rules and allowing the boys freedom within well-prescribed limits[18].

These findings are correlation; researchers cannot say that these parenting attributes cause children’s high self-esteem. Such factors as expression of affection and allowing children freedom within well-prescribed limits probably are important determinants of children’s self-esteem but researchers still must say that they are related to rather than they cause children’s self esteem, based on the available research data that are correlation.

Peer judgments gain increasing importance among older children and youths. In one investigation, peer support contributed more strongly to the self-esteem of youths than to that of children although parenting support was a more important factor than parenting support for late adolescents. Two types of peer support were studied: classmate support and close-friend support. Classmate support contributed more in most instances, close friends provide considerable support, it may be that their regard is not perceived as enhancing; rather, the youth may need to turn to somewhat more objective sources of support to validate his or her self-esteem.

There are four ways in which self-esteem can be improved are through (1) identifying the causes of low-esteem and the domains of competence important to the self (2) emotional support and social approval (3) achievement and (4) coping.

Identifying the youths’ sources of self-esteem- that is, competence in domains important to the self- is critical to improving self-esteem. Self-esteem theorist and researcher Susan Harter (1990b) points out that the self-esteem enhancement programs of the 1960s, in which self-esteem itself was the target and individuals were encouraged to simply feel good about themselves, were ineffective. Rather, Harter (1998) believes that intervention must occur at the level of the causes of self-esteem if the individual’s self-esteem is to improve significantly[19].

Youths have the highest self-esteem when they perform competently in domains important to the self. Therefore, youths should be encouraged to identify and value their areas of competence.

Emotional support and social approval in the form of confirmation from others also powerfully influence youths’ self-esteem (Harter 1990b). Some youth with low self-esteem come from conflicted families or conditions in which they experienced abuse or neglect- situations in which support is unavailable. In some cases, alternative sources of support can be implemented, either informally through the encouragement of a teacher, a coach or another significant adult or ore formally through programs such as Big Brothers and Big Sister. While peer approval becomes increasingly important during youth, both adult and peer support are important influences on the youth‘s self-esteem. In one recent study, both parental and peer support were related to the youth’s general self-worth (Robinson 1995)[20].

Achievement also can improve youths’ self-esteem (Bednar, Wells & Peterson 1995). For example, the straightforward teaching of real skills to youths often results in increased achievement and, thus, in enhanced self-esteem. Youths develop higher self-esteem because they know what tasks are important for achieving goals, and they have experienced performing them or similar behaviors. The emphasis on the importance of achievement in improving self-esteem has much in common with Bandura’s social cognitive concept of self-efficacy, which refers to individuals’ beliefs that they can master a situation and produce positive outcomes[21].

Self-esteem also is often increased when youths face a problem and try to cope with it rather avoid it (Lazarus 1991). If coping, rather than avoidance prevails, youths often face problems realistically, honestly and non-defensively. This produces favorable self-evaluative thoughts, which lead to the self-generated approval that raises self-esteem.the converse is true of low self-esteem. Unfavourable self-evaluations trigger denial, deception and avoidance in an attempt to disavow that which has already been glimpsed as true. This process leads to self-generated disapproval as a form of feedback to the self about personal adequacy[22].

Family interventions

 

In some families words are like barbed wire, they cut and puncture. In some families messages are like exploding shrapnel, they rip and tear. In some families secrets are like land mines step on one and they erupt in explosion. In some families even love and affection are tools in the battle. All war, especially the war in families, is at once horrible and dehumanizing and obscenely senseless.

Working with the entire family is often the optimal approach for dealing with young people at risk for dropout, substance use or other problems. When a child or adolescent is contemplating or engaged in life –threatening behavior, it is the utmost importance that the family be involved in efforts to avert the problem. In general, family counseling is appropriate (a) when the presenting problems are affected by and affect the family system, (b) when the child or adolescent is living in the family or is working through unfinished business with the family and is in contact with them even though not living at home and, (c) when both the counselor and the client agree that family counseling is an appropriate intervention.

For many family members, attending a counseling session is tantamount to acknowledging severe mental illness within the family. When a teacher or counselor believes that a particular family might benefit from family counseling, several steps can be taken to lay a foundation for success. First, the family needs to know why. On what basis has the referring professional made this decision? The identified problem- that is, the behavior of the child that attracted attention – should be explained in specific and concrete terms. A second step in family referral is to help the family understand that family counseling may help in the achievement of mutual goals. Counseling provides an opportunity for the family to work as a cohesive unit; the needs of all family members are considered in developing solutions to problems. Potential benefits include more appropriate behavior by the “problem child”, increased responsibility among family members for voicing their opinions and feelings, better grades for the children, and more support and less stress for all family members. Some families resist counseling because they are unsure how to begin the process.

In family counseling, problems are examined within the context of the family interactions or system. Problems are viewed not as the result of individual issues but as the consequence of the complex dynamics that characterize every family system. Often, the family comes to a counselor expecting that the “problem child” will be fixed. The family counselor first task is to assist family members to recognize that a family system is composed of a number of both positive and negative interlocking relationships. Family members must help to understand their contribution to the maintenance of the identified clients’ symptoms. Finally, the family must agree to work together to change their situation. Working with the entire family is advantageous in many ways. It enables the counselor to establish a more accurate perspective on the problem. The counselor may discover, for example, that what has been described by a 15 year old son as cruel authoritarianism is a belated attempt by his parents to impose control over curfew limits and homework completion. A mother who described herself as loving and affectionate may truly believe she is so in comparison with her own unavailable and hostile mother. But the objections and disagreements of her family can be a way to clarify the words loving and affectionate and the expectations that surround them. Watching arguments in progress provides the counselor with a picture of the family’s interaction that no series of descriptions could convey. In addition, to enhance problem identification, working with the whole family makes problem solving more cohesive, efficient and timely. The outcome of family counseling depends on many variables, including the therapist’s skill, the willingness of family members to exert effort and take risks, their willingness and ability to take responsibility for their behavior and he range of coping skills they possess.

a- The roles of cognitive and emotion in family relationship

Cognitive process is increasingly believed to be central to understanding socialization in the family (Bugental & Goodnow 1998; Parke & Buriel 1998). Cognition in family socialization comes in many forms, including parents’ cognitions, beliefs and values about parental role, as well as how parents perceive, organize and understand their youths’ behaviors and beliefs[23].

One study found a link between mother’s belief and their children’s social problem-solving skills (Rubin, Mills & Rose-Karnor 1989). Mothers who placed higher values on such skills as making friends, sharing with others, and leading or influencing other children had children who were more assertive, pro-social and competent problem solvers[24].

Emotion also is increasingly viewed as central to understanding family processes (Parke & Buriel 1998). Some of the areas that studies of emotion in family processes have focused on include the development of emotional regulation, the development of emotional production and understanding and the role of emotion in carrying out parental role[25].

Especially important in effective parenting is helping children and youth learn to manage their emotions. Children’s social competence is often linked to the emotional lives of their parents. For example, one study found that parents who displayed positive emotional expressiveness had children who were high in social competence (Boyum & Parake 1995). Through interactions with parents, children learn to express their emotions in socially appropriate ways[26].

Researchers also are finding that parental support and acceptance of children’s emotions is related to children’s ability to manage their emotions in positive ways (Parke & Buriel 1998). Parental comforting of children when they experience negative emotion is linked with constructive handling of anger (Eisenberg & Fabes 1994). Also, parental motivation to discuss emotions with their children is related to children’s awareness and understanding of others’ emotions (Denham, Cook & Zoller 1992; Dunn & Brown 1994)[27].

Underlying mush of the current research on socialization processes in families is the belief that cognition and emotion generally operate together in determining parenting practices (Dix 1991).

b- Social policy & families

Parents play very important roles in youth development. Although youths are moving toward independence, they are still connected with their families, which are far more important to them than is commonly believed. We know that competent youth development is most likely to happen when adolescents have parents who do the following (Small 1990)[28].

(1) Show them warmth and respect

(2) Demonstrate sustained interest in their lives

(3) Recognize and adapt to their changing cognitive and socio-emotional development

(4) Communicate expectations for high standards of conduct and achievement

(5) Display authoritative, constructive ways of dealing with problems and conflict.

However, compared to families with young children, families with adolescents have been neglected in community programs and public policies. The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development (1995) identified some key opportunities for improving social policy regarding families with adolescents. These are some of the council’s recommendation:

(1) School, cultural arts, religious, and youth organizations and health-care agencies should examine the extent to which they involve parents in activities with adolescents and should develop ways to engage parents and adolescents in activities they both enjoy.

(2) Professionals such as teachers, psychologists, nurses, physicians, youth specialists and others who have contact with adolescents need not only work with the individual adolescent but increase the time they spend interacting with the adolescent’s family.

(3) Employers should extend to the parents of young adolescents the workplace policies now reserved only for the parents of young children. These policies include flexible work schedules, job sharing, telecommuting and part-time work with benefits. This change in work/family policy would free parents to spend more time with their teenagers.

(4) Community institutions such as businesses, schools and youth organizations should become more involved in providing after-school programs. After-school programs for elementary school children are increasing, but such programs for adolescents are rare. More high-quality, community- based programs for adolescents are needed in the after- school, weekend and vacation time periods[29].

Peer interventions

 

One of the topics on teenagers peer relationships that have received the most attention is peer pressure. Scholars or teenagers have devoted considerable theoretical and research attention t it, and the general public believes that peer pressure is a central part of a teenager, something all youth have to earn to deal with in the course of growing up. Often, the assumption is that the influences of teenager friends are negative. The influence of friends is often blamed for youth involvement in a wide range of risk behaviors, including alcohol and other drug use, cigarette smoking and delinquent behavior[30].

However, evidence suggests that the influence of friends is important not only in encouraging teenagers  to participate in risk behavior but also in discouraging risk behavior, as well as in supporting them emotionally and helping them cope with stressful events (Berndt & Savin –Williams, 1993; Hartup,1993)[31].

Harry Stack Sullivan (1953) tended to emphasise the positive over the negative aspects of teenagers’ friendships. In Sullivan’s view, intimate friendships in teenager are important for building their self-esteem. These friendships also help them develop their social understanding according to Sullivan, as they compare their one perspective with their friend’s perspective. More recently, theorists on teenagers’ friendships have specified four types of support that friends may provide to each other in teenager (Berndt, 1996): (1) informational support is advice and guidance in solving personal problems such as those involving friends, romantic relationships, parents or school. Because of their similar ages, teenagers are often going through similar experiences. This is particularly true of friends because they tend to choose one another partly because of their similarities. Intimate friendships give teenagers a source of support because they can talk about their most personal thoughts and feelings with someone they believe will accept and understand them. (2) Instrumental support is help with tasks of various kinds. Teenagers’ friends support each other by helping each other do homework, assisting each other with household chores, lending each other money and so on. (3) Companionship support is being able to rely on each other as companions in social activities. They support each other by being reliable companions for those kinds of events – having someone to eat with at lunch or someone to sit with on the bus and so on. (4) Esteem support is the support teenagers’ friends provide by congratulating their friends by being “on their side” whether things go well or go badly for them. What sort of effects do these kinds of support have on teenagers’ development? Cross-sectional studies have found that support and nurturance in teenagers’ friendship are positively associated with depression and psychological disturbance (Licitra Kleckler & Waas, 1993; Way & Chen, 2000. However, because these studies are cross-sectional, it could be that teenagers with more favourable characteristics attract support and nurturance from friends, rather than that friends’ support and nurturance causes the favourable characteristics. Longitudinal studies in this area have had mixed results. Some longitudinal studies have found that supportive friendships to predict higher self-esteem and lower depressive symptoms (Bunrmester & Yin, 1997) as well as improvements in schoolwork (Berndt & Keefe, 1995). However, other longitudinal studies have found that supportive friendships did not predict changes over time in self-esteem, depression, drug abuse or academic achievement. Research in this area can be expected to provide more detailed information over the years to come[32].

 a- Conglomerate strategies for improving social skills

Conglomerate strategies also referred to as coaching; involve the use of a combination of techniques, rather than a single approach to improve youth’s social skills. A conglomerate strategy might consist of demonstration or modeling of appropriate social skills, discussion and reasoning about the social skills, as well as the use of reinforcement for their enactment in actual social situations. In one coaching study, students with few friends were selected and trained in ways to have fun with peers (Oden & Asher 1975). The “unpopular” students were encouraged to participate fully to show interest in others, to cooperate and to maintain communication. A control group of student (who also had few friends) was directed in peer experiences but was not coached specifically in terms of improved peer strategies. Subsequent assessment revealed that the coaching was effective with the coached group members showing more socialibility when observed in peer relationships than their non-coached counterparts[33].

Other efforts to teach social skills also have used conglomerate strategies (Merrell & Gimple 1997; Repinski & Leffert 1994) in one study, middle school youth were instructed in ways to improve their self-control, stress management and social problem solving (Weissberg & Caplan 1989). For example, as problem situation arose, teachers modeled and students practiced six sequential steps: (1) stop, calm down and think before you act (2) go over the problem and state how you feel (3) set a positive goal (4) think of lots of solutions (5) plan ahead for the consequences (6) go ahead and try the best plan. The 240 youths who participated in the program improved their ability to devise cooperative solutions to problem situations and their teachers reported that the students showed improved social relations in the classroom following the program. In another study, boys and girls in a low-income area of New Jersey were given instruction in social decision making, self-control and group awareness (Clabby & Elias 1988). When compared with the boys and girls who did not receive the training, the program participants were more sensitive to the feelings of others, more mindful of the consequences of their actions and better able to analyse problem situations and act appropriately[34].

Social skills training programs have generally been more successful with children 10 years of age or younger than with youths (Malik & Furman 1993). Peer reputations become more fixed as cliques and peer groups become more salient in youths. Even if youths develop new skills and engage in appropriate interactions, their peers might not change their evaluation of them. In such instances, intervention that changes such perceptions is needed[35].

One such intervention strategy involves cooperative group training. In this approach, children or youths work toward a common goal that holds promise for changing reputations. More cooperative group programs have been conducted in cooperative games and sports increases sharing and feelings of happiness.

Community

 

Taylor (1999) suggested that what is necessary for the control or reduction of gangs is the availability of jobs and the larger would of the business and industry. Gang members often get involved in gangs via involvement in drug trafficking. All youth want to have a certain level of material goods. Many more jobs must be developed for youth that pay more than minimum wage. Communities must make a consorted effect t contribute to this concept through local business and industry.

Many communities have struggled with youth crimes and gang development. A number of programs have been developed and implemented at local levels, and some have produced positive results. No one program, no set strategies, can be considered the answer to the multi faceted and complex problem of gang involvement. To do this, there must be dramatic changes in families, schools and communities and the nation. No one group is able to do the work alone. Individual groups and programs need to form coalitions and collaborative groups that tie the programs together and make them successful as well as cost and time effective.

Example of one of the earliest interventions was begun by the New York City Youth Board in 1946. It was known as the detached worker project. This project had the following goals: (a) reduced anti-social behavior (b) friendly interactions with other street gangs (c) increased democratic participation within the gangs (d) broadened social horizons (e) responsibility for self-direction (f) improved personal and social adjustment of the individual (g) improves community relations. In this model, a professional such as a social worker or police officer, works directly with a gang on its own turf. Each professional is assigned to a particular gang. Even though this approach has some success, the project worker often cannot provide the proper interventions commensurate with the level of gang involvement. Marginal gang members can often be helped by getting them to counseling groups, providing recreation to fill some of their time and connect them with more wholesome make role models and providing more jobs opportunities for them. Core gang members require a more intense level of intervention. These programs also require an effective police presence in the community (Yablonsky, 1997) the detached worker project model takes part a gang’s structive. It deals first with the marginal gang members or wannabes to help redirect their energies by providing constructive activities that will utilize their time as well as supply acceptable social interaction, thereby drawing them more into the mainstream of society.

Another caring program that emerged in cities like New York, Chicago and Boston during the 1930s was known as the Adult Youth Association (AYA) Approach. Settlement houses or community recreation centres were developed to deal with youth in these areas, where boredom, low economic status were all contributing to the alienation. The AYA approach is primarily based on the premise that male youth, in particular, need good role models to learn basic acceptable socialization skills and that the role models can be provided by community volunteers working with at risk youth in recreational endeavours and other social activities. The success of this approach is based on the fact that community’s youth because they are members of the same community ( Yablonsky, 1997). This type of program often draws on its own success stories for future volunteers. Those at risk individuals who were able to turn their lives around often return to their own neighbour hoods to become the youth leaders and role models for the next generation. Because the AYA is well integrated into each community and the workers are members or returning members of that community, the chance of successful outcomes is raised. The fact that AYA use recreation as a focus often leads to teams and leagues developing in one or more sports. Those at risk youth who belong to these leagues often replace the idea of being in a gang with the idea of joining an athletic league and derive the positive aspects of this organisation.   

Schools

 

School counselors and teachers are the frontline soldiers in the war against at risk youth behavior. To be capable, school counselors and teachers need to possess adequate knowledge in the following areas; parent consultation, referral and networking and professional compartment[36].

a- Parent consultation

School professionals need to be comfortable with the principle of parent consultation. If a school professional does not contact parents regarding at risk behaviors, the professional is maintaining too much responsibility for their at risk children and to become actively involved in the prevention process as soon as possible. Providing an effective consultation with the parents will assist the family the family in understanding the necessary steps of the helping process. It is very important for the school professional making the initial contact with the family to understand the critical nature of his or her role. It is necessary to provide the family with a clear understanding of the helping process. The initial consultation should be used to encourage and assist the family in receiving the most effective services possible. If the initial consultation is a positive consultation and a positive experience, more than likely the family will be ready to pursue the necessary steps of the treatment process[37].

b- Referral and networking

Another necessary knowledge area for school counselors and teachers is referral and networking. If school professionals cannot provide the at- risk youth and the family with appropriate services, they must refer the at risk youth and the family to an inappropriate agency, institution or private practitioner. Frequently, the at risk youth is identified by school professionals but the services required for treatment are offered elsewhere, thus, the schools must link their efforts for at risk youth with the efforts of local agencies, practitioners and hospitals. Maintaining a comprehensive referral network of helping professionals is probably one of the most important aspects of prevention as well as a major responsibility for the school professionals treating at risk youth. The network should include both medical and non-medical mental health service providers. Specifically, referral sources need to include psychologists, marriage and the family specialists. Schools professionals treating at risk youth must have a thorough knowledge of the variability and comprehensiveness of various services in the community[38].

c- Professional compartment

Critical to proper professional compartment is knowledge on how to act in an ethical and legal manner when working with at risk youth. On key ethical and legal concern in work with youth at risk is the issue of confidentiality. Too often school professionals maintain confidentiality without considering the ramifications to the youth as well as to themselves. Being direct and upfront with the youth about the types of information and behavior that are treated in a confidential manner versus those to be reported to the parents helps avoid potential problems later[39].

d- Curriculum – Based interventions

When people think of school counselors with at risk youth, they usually think of school counselors performing secondary and tertiary prevention activities examples, school counselor s facilitating support groups or conducting individual counseling. However, school counselors have an important role to play with the primary prevention of at risk status in youth. In 1997, the American School Counselor Association published national standards or school counseling programs. The model program contained guidance curriculum goals in three areas: personal or social development, career development and academic development. Lapan, Gysbers and Sun (1997) have found that full implementation of a guidance program serves as a powerful antidote to at risk status. Students in schools with a more fully implemented guidance program reported that:

(a) They earned higher grades

(b) Their education was better preparing then for the future

(c) Their school made more career information available to them

(d) Their school had a more positive climate.

School guidance program are not the sole domain of school counselors. In fact, because of their small numbers, the main role of the school counselor in the guidance program is that of facilitator. The key deliverer of the curricular parts of the guidance program is the teacher. Thus, the student outcomes just noted as possible only if school counselors and teachers work in concert[40].

e- Sex education

A recent survey found that 93 percent of students support the teaching of sex education in high school and 84 percent support its teaching in middle or junior high schools. The dramatic increase in HIV / AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is the main reason that Americans have increasingly supported sex education in schools in recent years. One study suggests that more than 8 of 10 students think that youths should be given information to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies and STDs, as well as about abstinence. And more than 8 out of 10 rejected the idea that providing sex education encourages sexual activity[41].

Sex education programs in schools might not by themselves prevent youth pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Researchers have found that sex education classes do improve youths’ knowledge about human sexuality but do not always change their sexual behavior.

In one program pioneered by some public schools in cooperation with John Hopkins University, family planning clinics are located adjacent to schools (Zabin 1986). The clinics send a nurse and social worker into the schools, where they make formal presentations about the services available from the clinics and about sexuality. They also are available to the students for counseling several hours each day. The same health personnel also conduct after-school sessions at the clinics. These sessions involve further counseling, films and family-planning information. The results have been very positive. Students who participated in the programs delayed their first intercourse longer than did students in a control group. After 28 months, the pregnancy rate had declined by 30 percent in the program schools, while it rose 60 percent in the control-group schools. This program demonstrates that a key dimension of pregnancy prevention is the link between information and support services (Kenney 1987)[42].

However, some critics argue that school-linked health clinics promote pre-marital sex and encourage abortions= for pregnant adolescents. These critics believe that more effort should be devoted to promoting adolescents’ abstention from sex. Supporters of the school-inked clinics argue that sexual activity in adolescence has become a normative behavior and therefore that interventions should focus on teaching responsible sexual behavior and providing access to contraception (Dryfoos 1995)[43]. 

Drop out: improving the lives of the youth

 

The dropout rate can be reduces and the lives of non-schooling youths improved by strengthening the schools and by bridging the gap between school and work (William T.Grant Foundation Commission on Work, Family, and Citizenship 1988)[44].

Part of the solution lies within schools. Students may work hard through twelve grades of school, attain adequate records, learn basic academic skills, and graduate in good standing, and still experience problems in getting started in a productive career. Others may drop out of school because they see little benefit from the type of education they are getting. Although no complete cure-all, strengthening schools is an important dimension of reducing dropout rates. While education reform movements of the 1980s have encouraged schools to set higher standards for students, teachers, most of the focus has been on college-bound students. But reform movements should not penalize students who will not go to college. One way non-college-bound youth are being helped is by providing extra services for low-achieving students. States and communities need to establish clear goals for school completion, youth employment, parental involvement, and youth community service. For example, it should be the goal of every state to reduce the dropout rate to 10 percent or less by year 2010[45].

One innovative program is the “ I have a dream” (IHAD) Program, a comprehensive, long-term dropout prevention program administered by the National “I have a dream” Foundation in New York. Local IHAD projects around the country “adopt” entire grades (usually the third or fourth) from public elementary schools, or corresponding age-cohorts from public housing developments. These children-“Dreamers”- are then provided with a program of academic, social, cultural, and recreational activities throughout their elementary, middle school and high school years. An important part of this program is that it is personal rather than institutional: IHAD sponsors and staff develop close long-term relationships with the children when participants complete high schools, IHAD provides the tuition assistance necessary for them to attend a state or local college or vocational school[46].

The IHAD program was created in 1981, when philanthropist Eugene Lang made an impromptu offer of college tuition to a class of graduating sixth-graders in East Harlem. Statistically, 75 percent of the students should have dropped out of school; instead, 90 percent graduated and 60 percent went to college. Since the National IHAD Foundation was created in 1986, it has grown to number over 150 Projects in 57 cities and 28 states, serving some 12,000 children[47].

Community institutions, especially schools, need to break down the barriers between work and school. Many youth step off the education ladder long before reaching the level of professional career, often with nowhere to step next, left to their own devices to search for work. These youth need more assistance than they are now receiving. Among the approaches worth considering are these:

(1) monitored work experiences, such as through cooperative, apprenticeship, internships, pre-employment training, and youth-operated enterprises.

(2) Redirected vocational education, the principle thrust of which should not be preparation for specific jobs but acquisition of basic skills needed in a wide range of work.

(3) Guarantees of continuing education, employment, or training especially in conjunction with mentoring programs.

(4) Career information and counseling to expose youth to job opportunities and career options as well as to successful role models.

(5) School volunteer programs, not only for tutoring but to provide access to adult friends and mentors[48].

 

Responding to crime and violence

 

In addition to economic policies designed to reduce unemployment and poverty , numerous social policies and programs have been initiated to alleviate the problem of crime and violence. These policies and programs include local initiatives, criminal justice policies and legislative action[49].

a- Local initiatives

Youth programs: early intervention programs acknowledge that it is better to prevent crime than to cure it once it has occurred. Preschool enrichment programs such as Perry Preschool Project, have been successful in reducing rates of aggression in young children. After random assignment of children to either a control or experimental group, experimental group members received academically oriented interventions for 1 to 2 years, frequent home visits and weekly parent-teacher conferences. When control and experimental groups were compared, the experimental group had better grades, higher rates of high school graduation, lower rates of unemployment and fewer arrests (Murray, Guerre & Williams 1997)[50].

Recognizing the link between juvenile delinquency and adult criminality, many anti-crime programs are directed toward at risk youths. These prevention strategies, including youth programs such as Boys and Girls clubs, are designed to keep young people “off the streets”, provide a safe and supportive environment and offer activities that promote skill development and self-esteem. According to Gest and Friedman (1994), housing projects with such clubs repot 13 percent fewer juvenile crimes and a 25 percent decrease in the use of crack. Finally, many youth programs are designed to engage juveniles in noncriminal activities and interact them into the community. Weed and Seed, a program under the Department of Justice, “ aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse and gang activity in targeted high crime neighbourhoods across the country by ‘weeding’ out the bad ( e.g., violent criminals, drug traffickers) and ‘seeding’ the good (e.g., neighbourhood restoration, crime prevention strategies). As part of the program, Safe Havens are established in, for example, schools where multi-agency services are provided for youth (Weed and Seed 2000)[51].

Community programs: neighbourhood watches programs involve local residents in crime-prevention strategies. For example, MAD DADS in Omaha, Nebraska, patrol the streets in high crimes area of the city on weekend nights, providing positive adult role models for troubled children. Members also report crime and drug sales to police, paint over gang graffiti, organize gun buy-back programs, and counsel incarcerated fathers. In 19999, 9,500 communities participated in “National Night Out”, a crime prevention event in which citizens, businesses, neighbourhood organizations and local officials joined together in outdoor activities to heighten awareness of neighbourhood problems, promote anti-crime messages, and strengthen community ties (NNO2000).

Mediation and victim-offender dispute resolution programs are also increasing with over 300 such programs now in the United States. The growth of these programs is a reflection of their success rate: two-thirds of cases referred result in face- to- face meetings, over 90 percent of these cases result in a written restitution agreement, and 90 percent of the written restitution agreements are completed within 1 year (VORP 1998)[52].

b- Criminal justice policy

The criminal justice system is based on the principle of deterrence, that is, the use of harm or the threat of harm to prevent unwanted behaviors. It assumes that people rationally choose to commit crime, weighing the rewards and consequences of their actions. Thus, the recent emphasis on “get tough” measures holds that maximizing punishment will increase deterrence and cause crime rates to decrease. Research indicates, however, that the effectiveness of deterrence   is a function of not only the severity of the punishment, but the certainty and swiftness of the punishment as well. Further, “get tough” policies create other criminal justice problems, including overcrowded prisons and consequently, he need for plea bargaining and early release programs[53].

c- Law enforcement agencies

In 1999, the United States had 420,544 law enforcement officers with an average of 2.5 officers for every 1,000 people (FBI 2000). Ironically, despite recent increases in the number of law enforcement personnel, public opinion that “more police on the streets” will reduce violent crime has decreased (Pew Research Centre 2000). Further, accusations of racial profiling, police brutality and discriminatory arrest practices have shaken public confidence in the police, particularly among non-whites and those with low incomes (Gallup Poll 1999; BJS 2000A)[54].

In response to such trends, the Crime Control Act of 1994 established the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Community-oriented policing involves collaborative efforts among the police, the citizens of a community and local leaders. As part of community policing efforts, officers speak to citizen groups, consult with local agencies, and enlist the aid of corporate and political leaders in the fight against neighbourhood crime (COPS 1998; Lehrur 1999; Worden 2000a)[55].

Officers using community policing techniques often employ “ practical approaches” to crime intervention. Such solutions may include what Felson (1998) calls “ situational crime prevention”. Felson argues that much of crime could be prevented imply by minimizing the opportunity for its occurrence. For example, cars could be outfitted with unbreakable glass, flush-sill lock buttons, an audible is to remove keys and a high security lock for steering columns (Felson 1998, 168). These techniques and community oriented policing, in general, have been fairly successful. After COPS was implemented in New York City and New Orleans, homicide rates dropped dramatically – 40 and 18 percent respectively (Sileo 2000)[56].

 d- Rehabilitation versus Incapacitation

An important debate concerns the primary purpose of the criminal justice system: Is it to rehabilitate or to incapacitate them through incarceration? Both rehabilitation and incapacitation are concerned with recidivism rates, or the extent to which criminals commit another crime. Advocated of rehabilitation believe recidivism can be reduced by changing the criminal, whereas proponents of incapacitation think it can best be reduced by placing the offender in prison so that he or she is unable to commit further crimes against the general public[57].

Societal fear of crime had led to a public emphasis on incapacitation and a demand for tougher mandatory sentences, a reduction in the use of probation and parole, support of a “ three strikes and you’re out” policy, and truth-in- sentencing laws (DuIulio 1999; Human Rights Watch 2000). Although incapacitation is clearly enhanced by longer prison sentences, rehabilitation may not be. Rehabilitation assumes that criminal behavior is caused by sociological, psychological and or biological forces rather than being solely a product of free will. If such forces can be identified, the necessary change can be instituted. Rehabilitation programs include education and job training, individual and group therapy, substance abuse counseling and behavior modification[58].

Treatment of drug abuse

 

There is a wide variety of programs available for treating drug abuse. The various treatment programs differ in regard to a number of issues such as whether they are voluntary or involuntary, selective or nonselective, inpatient or outpatient, medical or nonmedical, and whether the goal is abstinence or controlled use of the substance[59].

A major consideration in the approach to drug abuse is whether individuals receive treatment in a residential or outpatient program. Most of these programs assume that drug abuse is a symptom of underlying psychological problems and aim at a change in lifestyle as well as abstinence. There are several hundred residential programs including medical oriented, hospital-based programs and therapeutic communities staffed largely by former addicts. Hospital treatment programs typically last one or two months though some last up to a year. Therapeutic communities tend to require longer periods from about nine to eighteen months. But both types of programs have a relatively high failure rate. Individuals may not be ready for the complete change in lifestyle demanded by the program. Or they become bored or frustrated, with most dropouts leaving in the first 28 days. A large proportion of people who enter theses programs drop out and reenter the program at a later date, with relapse being the rule rather than the exception. In the outpatient programs, individuals visit the treatment facility at family counseling, encounter groups, educational and career programs, training in life skills and work assignments in the community (Jones-Witters and Witters 1983)[60].

Because of the prevalence of relapse, some cognitive behavioral therapist have developed relapse-prevention training to help substance abusers cope with high-risk situations and prevent lapses from becoming full-blown relapses (Marlatt and Gordon 1985). Trainees are taught to cope with high risk situations by practicing relaxation and to avoid practices that might trigger a relapse, such as keeping alcohol in the house. They are also taught how to avoid the abstinence violation effect – overreacting to a lapse – by reorienting their thinking. Unlike the disease model, which claims that alcoholics automatically lose control if they take a single drink, the relapse-prevention model contends a lot depends on the individual’s reaction to a lapse. Use of self- defeating attributions such as “What’s the use? I’m doomed to fail” evoke resignation and a resumption of problem drinking. However, individuals in relapse-prevention training are encouraged to view lapses as temporary setbacks that they can learn from and avoid in the future. For instance, individuals are taught to think, “Okay, I had a little slip. But that doesn’t mean I’m all through. I can get right back on track.” Participants are trained to challenge dysfunctional thinking about lapses and substitute more adaptive copping thoughts and actions. Despite their promise, the results of relapse-prevention training have been mixed, such that more research is needed to fully evaluate the benefits of such training[61].

A comprehensive approach treatment suggested by Turanski (1982) would include components for youths at different stages of drug use and abuse. A preventive component, especially for teenagers whose parents abuse drugs, would include individual, group and family therapy, as well as the availability of educational and career counseling and support groups. A second component would focus on teens at risk that are currently recreational users of drugs but are in danger of future escalation of drug use. This would include the resources mentioned above plus workshops in life skills training and alternative activities to drug use. A third component would provide intensive and long term residential treatment for the more severe drug abuser. A final component would include after-care and support for youths and their families during the transition back to the community, crisis intervention if needed, and guidance in developing new activities and peer relationships. In addition, Craig Thorne and Richard DeBlassie (1985) suggest more widespread acceptance of the view that addiction is something the individual can and has to take responsibility for in order to achieve lasting improvement[62].

a- Prevention

It is easier to prevent teenagers from starting drugs than persuading them to quit once they’ve begun. If so, programs aimed at prevention should be initiated early in the educational process, prior to the ninth grade. Preventive education aimed at the use of alcohol and cigarettes should begin before sixth grade. A variety of approaches to drug education have been and still are used (White 1991)[63].

One type of program provides students with information about drugs. Most of these explain how drugs affect the brain, and thus how we feel and behave, along with adverse effects of drugs. Usually, it’s more helpful to present the facts as honestly as possible, avoiding scare tactics.

Another approach is to deal with issues of health and psychological well being that are strongly associated with drug abuse and a drug-free existence. Major topics include dysfunctional and healthy families, self-esteem, health, fitness, personal control and stress management. Activities often consist of class or small group discussions aimed at promoting self-understanding and positive attitudes and values.

A third type of program focuses on alternatives to drug use. The aim is to discover activities that provide students with positive experiences similar to those obtained by drugs. Some have suggested that a given type of activity is needed to counteract a specific type of drug problem, for instance, people who seek excitement through stimulants need to ask an alternative form of excitement such as hang gliding. Yet this notion implies an oversimplified view of the effects produced by different drugs. A sounder approach would be to emphasise activities that make peoples’ lives more pleasurable and fulfilling without the hazards of drugs (White 1991)[64].

Still another approach stresses the acquisition of social skills. Some skills would increase social competence such as how to initiate a conversation. Others might focus on drug-refusal skills such as refusing an alcoholic drink at a party. Given the importance of peer interaction during adolescence and especially in regard to drug use, this approach should not be underestimated. Evidence for reduced drug use is strongest for this approach (Tobler 1986)[65].

A fifth approach emphasizes the importance of personal commitment. The importance of personal decision is apparent in a study of drug use and abuse among several hundred high school students (Scott 1978). When asked why they continued to use drugs, users frequently cited the “payoff” of drugs. To the question what might make them stop using or abusing drugs, the most common answer was “my decision”. When former drug users and abusers were asked why they had stopped, a larger percentage of them indicated there was “no payoff” from drugs or they no longer had “need for drugs”. And the most frequently given reason for staying off drugs was “willpower” and “self-determination”, all of which underlines the importance of making a personal commitment to stay away from drugs[66]. 

Media

 

Few developments in society over the last 40 years have had a greater impact on youth than television (Calvert 1999; Huston & Wright 1998). The persuasion capabilities of television are staggering. As they have grown up, many of today’s youth have spent more time in front of the television set than with their parents or in the classroom. Radio, records, rock music and music videos are other media that especially important influences in the lives of many youths[67].

 Youths are exposed to an expanding array of media that carry messages that shape youths’ judgments and behavior. The following social policy initiatives were recommended by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development (1995):

(1) Encourage socially responsible programming. There is good evidence of a link between media violence and youth aggression. The media also shape many other dimensions of youths’ development- gender, ethnic, and occupational roles, as well as standards of beauty, family life and sexuality. Writers, producers and media executives need to recognize how powerful their messages are to youths and work with experts on youth development to provide more positive images to youth[68].

(2) Support public efforts to make the media more adolescents friendly. Essentially, the American media regulate themselves in regard to their influence on adolescents. All other Western nations have stronger regulations than the United States to foster appropriate educational programming.

(3) Encourage media literacy programs as part of school curriculum, youth and community organizations and family life. Many youths do not have the knowledge and skills to critically analyse media messages. Media literacy programs should focus not only on television but also on the Internet, newspapers, magazines, radio, videos, music, and electronic games[69].

(4) Increase media presentations of health promotions. Community-wide campaigns using public service announcements in the media have been successful in reducing smoking and increasing physical fitness in youths. Use of the media to promote youth health and well-being should be increased.

(5) Expand opportunities for adolescents’ views to appear in the media. The media should increase the number of adolescent voices in their presentations by featuring editorial opinions, news stories, and videos authored by adolescents. Some schools have shown that this strategy of media inclusion of adolescents can be effective dimension of education[70].

One organization that is trying to do something about the media’s impact on adolescents is Mediascope, which s developing an ethics curriculum on violence to be used in courses that train thousands of film students who hope to become moviemakers. Mediascope is also monitoring the entire television industry to assess such issues as the gratuitous use of violence.

Moral education

 

a- The hidden curriculum

More than 60 years ago, educator John Dewey (1933) recognized that even when schools do not have specific programs in moral education, they provide moral education through a “hidden curriculum”. The hidden curriculum is conveyed by the moral atmosphere that is part of every school. The moral atmosphere is created by school and classroom rules, the moral orientation of teachers and school administrators and text materials. Teachers serve as role models of ethical or unethical behavior. Classroom rules and peer relations at school transmit attitude about cheating, lying, stealing and showing consideration for others. And through its rules and regulations, the school administration infuses the school with a value system[71].

b- Character education

Character education is a direct approach that involves teaching students a basic moral literacy to prevent them from engaging in immoral behavior and doing harm to themselves or others. The argument is that such behaviors as lying, stealing and cheating are wrong and students should be taught this throughout their education. Every school should have an explicit moral code that is clearly communicated to students. Any violations of the code should be met with sanctions (Bennett 1993). Instruction in specified moral concepts, like cheating, can take the form of example and definition, class discussions and role-playing, or rewarding students for proper behavior[72].

Some character education movements are the Character Education Partnership, the Character Education Network, the Aspen Declaration on Character Education and the publicity campaign “ Character Counts”. Books that promote character education include William Bennett’s Book of virtues (1993) and William Damon’s Greater Expectations (1995)[73].

c- Values Clarification

Values clarification is an educational approach that is intended to help people clarify what their lives are for and what is worth working for. In this approach, students are encouraged to define their own values and understand the values of others. Values clarification differs from character education in not telling students what their values should be[74].

d- Cognitive moral education

Cognitive moral education is an educational approach based on the belief that students should learn to value things like democracy and justice as their moral reasoning develops. Kohlberg theory has been the basis for a number of cognitive moral education programs. In a typical program, high school students meet in a semester-long course to discuss a number of moral issues. The instructor act as a facilitator rather as a director of the class. The hope is that students will develop more advanced notions of such concepts as cooperation, trust, responsibility and community. Toward the end of his career, Kohlberg (1986) recognized that the moral atmosphere of the school is more important than he initially envisioned. For example, in one study, a semester-long moral education class based oh Kohlberg’s theory was successful in advancing moral thinking in three democratic school but not in three authoritarian schools (Higgins, Power & Kohlberg 1983)[75].

e- Rest’s Four- component model

James Rest (1995) believes that moral development builds upon four basic processes: moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation, and moral character.

(1) Moral sensitivity involves interpreting situations and being aware of how our actions affect other people. It involves being aware of the different possible lines of action and how each line of action could affect the parties concerned, including oneself. Moral sensitivity consists of imaginatively constructing possible scenarios ( often from limited cues and partial information), envisioning consequent chains of events in the real world, and empathy and role-taking skills. Moral sensitivity is needed to become aware that there is a moral issue in a situation[76].

(2) Moral judgment involves making decisions about which actions are right or wrong. Once the person is aware that these various lines of action are possible, the question becomes, which line of action has greater moral justification? This is the process emphasized by Piaget and Kohlberg. Even at an early stage people have intuitions about what is fair and moral and make moral judgments about even the most complex human activities. The psychologist’s job is to understand how these intuitions arise and determine what governs their application.

(3) Moral motivation involves prioritizing moral values over other personal values. People have many values including those related to careers, affectionate relationships, aesthetic preferences, institutional loyalties, hedonistic pleasures, excitement and so on. Why place a higher priority on moral values than on these other values? The behavior of the most evil people the world has ever known such as Hitler and Stalin can be explained as due to deficiencies in moral sensitivity and moral judgment. Further, people like Hitler and Stalin probably rated high on the next component of moral development[77].

(4) Moral character involves having the strength of your convictions, persisting and overcoming distractions and obstacles. An individual might have all of the first three components (might be sensitive to moral issues, have good judgment and give high priority to moral values) but if the person does not have moral character, he or she might wilt under pressure or fatigue, fail to follow through or become distracted or discouraged and fail to produce moral behavior. Moral character presupposes that the person has set goals and that achieving those goals involves the strength and skills to act in accord with those goals. The individual with moral character does not act impulsively and has considerable self-discipline. Rest and others believe that Kohlberg’s theory does not adequately focus on moral character (Walker & Pitts 1998)[78].

 

 

 

EFFECTS OF MAT REMPIT TO INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY

Effects to Individual

As we all know that Mat Rempit is one of the big problems in Malaysia. The government and society try to always find the solution to overcome or solve this social problem before it gets worse. Because if we can not stop it now, then there will be another other problem coming out from it and for sure it will give us much worse situation. However, this social problem actually brings negative effects to everyone. For instance, it will bring negative effects to individual and family.

Mat Rempit activity will effect the individual itself in many negative ways. For instance, they will waste time with the activity which will not give them any advantages. Instead, they will get the opposite one. As youth or the next generation of country, they should use their time wisely, for instance by studying. Because by preparing in a manner way to develop this country, they should not be involved in a such activity like Mat Rempit. It will just make them as the generation who can not develop and will not be able to think wisely about the future of this country.

Furthermore, being involved in Mat Rempit will distract their education because they tend to gather with their community rather than pursuing their study at school. They even sometimes ignore about the study since they find a happiness and satisfaction when they hang out with Mat Rempit community. Since their education is distracted, they could not continue their study because they get bad mark in their subject. And this situation will bring them becoming the nest generation of this country who unable to give benefit to their country, they even might become the future social problem that can make the development of country stuck in one situation. That’s why, we have to solve and stop this social problem so that it can not be bigger problem that might affect the society and country in a worse way.

Another effect that will occur to the individual itself is that they spend their life with danger things. Being involved in Mat Rempit community will make their life in danger and risk because they will make their life in danger and risk because their a possibility that they will have an accident while they race each other which will might cost a die for them. And also it’s risky because they will always have to face with police if there is a road block. Mat rempit has been the target police for a long time. If they are lucky, they can go from the roadblock. Otherwise they will be arrested and stay in a jail for not a short time. Another thing is that most of them don’t have the driving license since most of them are still very young who are between 12 years old and 20 years old. They are not legal road user.

Another effect that will take place on the individual is that Mat Rempit also get affected with the social problem such as alcohol, gambling and free sex. Being affected by alcohol, they will not be able to think in a good way. Furthermore, it will damage their body especially their brain. For the muslim, of course it’s haram and they will get sin by consuming such a thing. Come to gambling, it will also give bad effect to them since they will certainly waste their money in a very bad way. Even though they win the gambling but still the money they get is categorized as haram thing from which they will get sin.

Next is free sex. There is a possibility, when they join mat rempit community, they will have free sex because girls are involved inside the community. When boys and girls are together in a bad situation and condition, then the possibility will arise that there is a tendency they will do such a bad thing. If they fall in a free sex, it will create another big problem which will not only involve themselves but also the family itself. Furthermore, if it’s not solved immediately, it will make another big problem for this country which we don’t know yet what it is.

Next effect is that the level of iman of the youth will decrease since they gather with the people who have no good basic of iman. The longer they gather with this bad community, the more their iman will decrease. The following effects that will appear due to the decreasing iman is that they will have a bad attitude and behavior. For instance, being rude to society, being rude  to family and being rude  to friends who are not involved in the mat rempit community. By having bad behavior and attitude, it will create another problem which will certainly effect the individual itself.

Effects to Family

Mat rempit activity will also affect the family. When the youth join this bad community, they certainly don’t have much time with family. They will spend most of their time with mat rempit community. When they don’t have enough time to gather with their parents, their brothers, and sisters. They certainly will have little time communicate with them which will probably lead to the appearance of family problem.

In addition, the youth will listen more to their friends rather than to their parents, they will not accept it since they are more influenced by their friends. Furthermore, if the youth is the eldest brother in the family, they will not be a good example for their younger brothers and sisters since they always act in a bad way. It will affect the way the brothers and sisters think in how to behave and sometimes the youth who joins Mat Rempit community will become aggressive like they will hurt their parents or even the brothers and sisters to get what he wants. They also make their family as victim if they have problem. All of these is because of the moral that the youth has inside them is a bad moral value.

Another effect that will come to family due to the existence of youth in Mat Rempit is that the family will feel ashamed and it will give bad image to the family. Since Mat Rempit community is considered as bad community to society, then the family that has their sons who join the Mat Rempit community will be ashamed because of it. The society will see this kind of family is the family that has bad image. The society thinks that this family can’t take care of their sons so they join the mat rempit community and have friends who have no polite behavior and attitude. It will also drop the family dignity among the society which might make the family itself so embarrassed. They really don’t want to feel this kind of thing but the problem is that it already happened.

The other effect that will bring the family due to the existence of the son in Mat rempit is that it will waste parents’ money for something which is not good or even haram. Sometimes, it cost expensice for the son who joins the mat rempit community because the son needs to make a modification of the motorcycle engine so that he can win the race. Besides that, the money that the son gets from his parents might be spent to buy alcohol which is haram to drink.

The big amount of money that is spent by the son will give some financial problem to family because the money that should be spent for the benefit of family is used by the son who joins the mat rempit community. It will give a big problem to the family itself because the parents will have no enough money to finance the family. For instance, the money that should be spent to buy food but because there’s no enough money, the family can not buy enough food or even worse that the family can’t buy any food because there’s mo money left which has been spent by the son in joining Mat rempit community. Another example is that the brothers and sisters might not continue their study because the money that should be spent for their study has already been used by their older brother in mat rempit community.

Another effect that will come to family is when their son is the oldest sin in family. He might not be able to continue   the responsibility as the eldest son in the family if the father dies. When the father dies, then he should be a good example for family. He should take care of his mother as well as take care of his brothers and sisters. His mother who is getting older and needs more attention from her children and his brothers and sisters who needs him as an eldest brother who can guide them in everything since the father has died.

All of these should be in the mind of oldest brother. What things will happen if the oldest brother as person who is important when the father dies, joins one community and he becomes bad person there? These things certainly make another problem in family. No one can help the mother to take care of the brothers and sisters. Also, no one can be a good model as an example for the brothers and sisters. The involvement of the youth in Mat rempit community should be stopped right now in order to avoid another worse problem to come. We don’t want our family, society or even country become another victim of the existence of mat rempit community. Hopefully, there will be no more individual and family that will get the bad effects from mat rempit community.

EFFECTS OF MAT REMPIT TO THE RELIGION

Only one month after (19/4/09) the slogan of “One Malaysia” had been pronounced to the people, a group of Mat Rempit gang in town had called for a new slogan by making a poor girl as their victim. There were 15 Mat Rempits had raped a 17 year old girl! This happens when freedom had been put first, and the lust are being preferred. The consequence is that the devil will be followed while Allah will be put aside.

            In recent years, many criminal cases involving Mat Rempit gang had occured, like snatch cases and robbing cases. Where is the Head of UMNO Youth, our KJ brother who used to do ‘tarbiyah’ to these Mat Rempit? This is the reality that happened when men and womens relationship are not being governed by the law of syara’, instead freedom and benefit had become the guidance. If the girl was a pious Muslimah and does not make any contact with men who are not her husband and her father at that night, this problem would never occur from the first place. The girl was so easily being fooled and were brought to the oil palm plantations area when she, by herself without any hesitation agreed willingly to follow these devil Mat Rempits!

            Until when will we continue to hear these kind of news? Until when will our lives be surrounded by fear? This is only one little case from thousands of cases similar out there. We must view the problem of Mat Rempit as same as ordinary people because they also have the same emotions and thoughts. As long as we fail to change the thinking and emotions of this group, this problem would not be solved.

“Allah will not change a nation until they themselves change what is within themselves.” (Ar-Ra’d [13]:11)

            The changes that are meant is the change in their thinking and emotions. Therefore, in order to overcome this problem and solve it according to the long-term or short-term period is by taking Islam as our only source. As a Muslim, the leaders of the state should expressly say that the issue of Mat Rempit could only be solved when Islam is applied again in the lives of individual, communities, and the state. However, today Islam have been marginalised and being denied from the implementation in the society and the state into the teachings that is only believed and practiced by individuals only. This is what Allah had said:

            “But then do you believe in only a part of the Book, and reject the other? Then the consequence for those who do so amongst you, will be living in humiliation in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection (Al-Akhirah), they will be rejected in a very heavy punishment. And remember Allah is very aware of what ye do.” (Al-Baqarah [2]:85)

            This is the bitter fact that we need to accept by each one of us that Islam is not implemented wholly (kaffah) by the state. Therefore, not only to accept the fact, but we also need to strive to change this condition because we will always receive failures eventhough all the intellectuals in the whole world made an assembly and were gathered to find the sollutions to the problem of Mat Rempit.

            “And whoever turns away from following, verily for him is a life that is narrowed down, and We will raise him on the Day of Resurrection (Al-Akhirah) blindly” (Taha [20]:124)   

            Mat Rempit had really damaged the image of Islam. Islam is religion that calls for reasoning, and thinking, but the Mat Rempit had never used their mind to consider what is halal or haram because what they seek is to enjoy life to the fullest! These Mat Rempit had never thought about where will they go after they die and buried. After they really think about the death, they will never do such thing, because as a human everone will have a sense to worhip eventhough he had done so many bad things. If the Mat Rempit realize about the true Iman, they will immediately stop their present activities and they will start to race to the Jannah!

            Islam also teaches us to use our time wisely, “By Time, indeed human is in losses. Unless those who advice to the truth and patience.” (Al-‘Asr, 1-3)

By becoming a Mat Rempit, all of the time would be surely wasted like a dust. The Mat Rempits had abandon their obligation of acquiring knowledge because they had used the whole night just for racing, and then in the morning they would not be able to come to class because of the tiredness. Rasulullah SAW had said:         “Seeking knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim.”

           

           

Mat Rempit’s ‘viagra’

October 9, MAT Rempit usually high themselves with tuak (fermented coconut or nipah sap) mixed with terrapin blood before taking part in a race.

Kosmo! said this was the secret behind their bravery in performing death defying stunts on motorcycles.

The terrapin blood is said to enhance the effects of the alcohol while the drink functions like a sort of “viagra” to overcome fear.

A Mat Rempit, who did not want to be named, told Kosmo! that the concoction gave them a “different feeling of being high”.

“Even if there is a narrow road, it will appear very wide to us,” he added.

He also told the daily that there are a few places in Pasir Mas and Jeli in Kelantan that processed the drink secretly for Mat Rempit. The brew is sold at RM5 per packet or by weight.

A police officer told Kosmo! that most Mat Rempit confessed they had drunk the special tuak and that it was a compulsory drink before racing.

 

EFFECTS OF MAT REMPIT TO THE COUNTRY

            The issue of Mat Rempit seems to have become a national issue but so far still failed to be solved. Various parties have tried to tackle this problem but till now, no concrete sollution yet to be heard from them. Various negative stories often appear more and more after the media had popularise the issue of Mat Rempit. Various approaches have been tried and measures have been taken to tackle this problem but until now its effectiveness is not as expected. The first part of a Mat Rempit group had joined the “Prince of Motor Travel Humanity” organized by the bureauof Putera UMNO Malaysia, led by Deputy UMNO Youth Malaysia, Khairy Jamaluddin. Among the things that had been passed in the programme are:

            “Programme organized by the Bureau of Putera UMNO is a history in which those who are known as ‘Mat Mrempit’ was compiled to bring the message of peace.”

            He also explained that this convey was first programmed to assist Mat Rempit that was previoysly labelled as a problematic group or a threat to the society.

            “We want to continue in approaching them (Mat Rempit) and set up a ‘Motor Club’ that is arranged properly so that they can be with us and eliminate the negative public perception. Programmes like this will be an ‘ongoing’ programme and will be extended to the whole country. This had become an evidence that the Mat rempit can contribute something meaningful. This indirectly provides education and exposure to a healthy culture among them.” He said.

            The Chairman of Putera UMNO Bureau, Datuk Abdul Azzez Rahim also said that “people often overlook Mat Rempit as a group of teenagers who love illgeal motor racing and promotes dangerous action, but do not see the positive values in the group. Mat Rempit is also like a normal human being who have hearts and feelings. Programmes like this are able to prove to the public that they can contribute something to help the people.” He added, “Such programmes also can provide space for the community to remove the mind from prejudice against motorcyclist youth.”

            Now the programme seems to only become a programme, and the Mat Rempit’s problem had also continued to rape more innocent virgin girls, robbing more houses, stealing more luxurious cars and motorcycles, snatching womens handbag, drinking allcohol, taking drugs, and many more evil activities. The question that arises is how can this problem be completely solved?

            The reality is that these Mat Rempit is also a part of the community. Therefore, to tackle the problem, an integrated actions need to be done to correct the problem that occurs in a society. These efforts need to be addressed by individuals, communities and the entire country. In respect to the role of underlying solutions to this problem of Mat Rempit is not only concerning social problems alone but it includes the whole existing system. Solutions to this problem should also involve the education system, economic system, the judicial system, as well as the social system it self.

The secular education that we adopt today, so the result from it is that the sons of Muslims today are very ignorant about the teachings of Islam. The syllabus are created to make them far away from Islam, because the syllabus been had seperated between the religion and life (secular) from the first place. The science students will only learn about medicine, engineering, biology, chemistry, physics until to the rank of P.h.D, but sadly most of them only knows a little about Islam and even does not bother to know about it. How can they know about Islam if the system of education only allocate for them two hours in a week for religion class? While the Islamic Study students will learn various kind of disciplines like Usul Fiqh, Fiqh, Usuluddin, Al-Qur’an and Sunnah, Comparative Religion, and many more branches in Islam but when it comes to mathematics and science, they would know nothing. This secular education had breed Mat Rempits by not ensuring enough Islamic education to be learn. Most of the students does not even know how to pray and read the holy Qur’an properly! How can they guard themselves from evil if they do not have the knowledge?

Moreover, the expesive cost of payment for anyone that wants to get an education had made the situation even becoming worse. Many children did not went to school because their parents does not have enough money to support them. School drop out kid had also become a factor to the raising problem of Mat Rempit. While this problem would never occur in the first place if the educations were free.

 The state is obliged to improve the education system through a free education for all people. Education, is one of the basic rights of the people in the Islamic countries. Therefore, it is the state that need to ensure the basic rights to be acquired by each of the citizens.

Evidence showing that free education is the responsibility of the Khilafah is based on the Ijma’ Sahabah (Companians consensus) providing salaries to teachers that was taken from the Baitul Mal certain amount. Ibn Abi Syaibah, from Sadaqoh ad-Dimasyqi, from al-Wadl-iah bin Atha:

“There are three teachers who teach children in the Medina, and the Caliph ‘Umar bin Al-Khathab provide for them salary fifteen dinars (~ 63.75g gold) each month.”

When the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam determine legal ransom captives Battle of Badr, he ordered that any prisoners that wanted to be released must teach ten Muslims, this proves that the problem of education is the responsibility of the country, because it involve things that are rights of the people which is a necessity, to eradicate ignorance and illiterate. As the proof of syara’ where the country has obligations to preserve, manage and protect the affairs of the people, is based on the words of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam:

“An Imam (leader) is like a shepherd, and would be responsible for his sheep.” [HR Ahmad, Syaikhan, Abu Dawud]

We are very sad of what the governments had done in solving the Mat Rempit issue. They had sent the Mat Rempit to the North Pole which causes a huge amount of money, but yet they had done something which is really useless. They had wasted the peoples money just for their own fun. While the people are still suffering from the disease of Mat Rempit. The government also had made an organized motorcycle club so that the Mat Rempit can help the society, but until now Mat Rempit had caused nothing to the society except fear, sadness, and anger! The government of Terengganu had just used RM5 million for the so called purpose to educate the Mat Rempit. RM5 million is not a simple amount of money. It is a big amount of money which had been taken from the people’s pocket and now it had been used for the devils of Mat Rempit. And then we ca read at the news paper, every day there are girls that are being raped by the Mat Rempit! Will the government use the RM5 million money wisely?  

 The reason why does the Mat Rempit likes to commit crimes because they are not afraid at all committing any crimes because the law that is implemented today does not give any deterrence at all. That is why these Mat Rempit does not care to rape, rob, and steal anything that they want. There are nobody that wants to make them stop from drinking wain, taking drugs and other forbidden things. The Islamic law is the solution to this kind of problem. Only the law of God can make the humans become afraid. Only the divine law that will stop the wine drinking, zina, rape, robbing, and many other crimes because the guilty person will be sanctioned in front of the public to make sure that it will become a deterrence to the society.

There is a hadith about women named Makhzumiyah, where the Prophet was so angry over the pardon or forgiveness of the punishment proposed by Usama. The Messenger SAW said,

“Indeed, the people before you were ruin is because when there is a respected person among them steal, they left and ignore it. However, when the poor stealing, his hand will be cut off. By the Zat which my soul is in His hand, if Fatimah bint Muhammad stole, I  will cut her hands “.

In this Hadith, Allah explains that the destruction before us is not because not implementing Allah’s hudud but it was because of the bias in law. The Prophet SAW also said,

“Had the set in the land better for the people of earth from rainfall for 40 days.”

Therefore we need is an integrated solution that will not only solve the problem of Mat Rempit but also solve the various problems faced by other individuals, communities and the state. On this basis, it is obviously that there is no way to solve the problem of Mat Rempit except to apply Islam as a comprehensive system of life that covers the life of the individual, community, or the state.    

            “O ye who believe! Enter Islam wholly and do not follow the steps of the devil, indeed the devil is clearly an enemy to you.” (Al-Baqarah [2]:208)

            Nabi Muhammad saw had shown us the success in controlling the Jahiliyyah Arab society that is much more violent then Mat Rempit. Rasulullah saw succeeded when he implemented the Law of the Creator, what about us?    

Terengganu allocates RM5 million to tame Mat Rempit

 

KUALA TERENGGANU, Dec 23 (Bernama) — The Terengganu government is allocating RM5 million for programmes to tackle the “Mat Rempit” (illegal motorcycle racers) problems next year, the State Assembly was told today.

State Youth and Sports Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Rahin Mohd Said said besides the campaign to instill awareness on the dangers of illegal motorcycle racing, programmes would also be carried out to “tame” the racers.

This huge allocation showed the proactive measures by the state government to prevent youngsters from getting involved in unhealthy activities, he added.

He was responding to a supplementary question by Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut (PAS-Wakaf Mempelam) on steps taken by the government to overcome social problems among youngsters in the state.

In response to an original question by Nawi Mohamad (BN-Hulu Besut)on allocation for human capital development for youths, Abdul Rahin said various programmes had been outlined under the youth development plan 2009-2013 for the purpose.

He said they included RM5 million for the construction of youth business complex in each parliamentary constituency in the state.

“The government also provides loans through the youth cooperative,” he said, adding that the state government had allocated RM30 million for youth development programmes in the Budget 2010.

Meanwhile, State Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Za’abar Mohamad Adib said the government had not received any complaint of indecent activities or behaviour, like nude bathing and sun-bathing, at tourist destinations in Terengganu.

He said although tourism was an important source of revenue for the state, the government would not tolerate such activities.

“There also a directive prohibiting the sale of liquor to Muslims by chalet operators and those involve in the tourism industry.

“Hotels and chalets in the state are also provided with pamphlets on dress code to be issued to foreign tourists,” he said in response to questions by Datuk Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi (PAS-Batu Buruk) on the matter.

Mat Rempit Bandit  

July 5, Be alert when you hear the sound of motorcycles. The MyFM local radio station DJ Lam Tuck Weng was similarly attacked but luckily he was alert enough to run and took refuge inside the petrol station premises!

CCTV camera records Mat Rempit attack.

VIOLENT crime in progress: These pictures tell how 14 Mat Rempit ganged up to beat and rob five women during an early morning fuel stop in Bangsar.

A CCTV surveillance camera captured the attack on the three sisters and two of their cousins at the Shell petrol station in Jalan Bangsar. Traumatised, they have vowed never to go to a petrol station again after dark.

Twelve young thugs, on six motorcycles, were said to be ‘hovering around the station’ while a pair on another motorcycle filled up as the women drove in about 3.30am on Saturday.

They were on their way home after a function in Puchong. Sisters Uma Munusamy, 33, Chittra, 32, and Latha, 31, were to drop off cousins Ragas Letchumanan, 28, and Komala, 20, at their Bangsar home when they decided to stop for fuel.

They drove up to a pump at the station. Latha went to the window counter to pay, while Chittra, who was driving, got out to fill up. That was when the Mat Rempit, who had been noisy and boisterous, moved in, as if acting on cue.

One thug attacked Latha, splashing a can of ‘Red Bull’ energy drink on her face. The sweet-sour liquid stung her eyes, temporarily blinding her as the thug pushed her down, hit her with the drink can and snatched her gold chain and handphone.

Another three dashed to the car to attack the others.

‘We were in fear. We thought that we had been splashed with acid, as the liquid they threw on our faces really stung,’ said Uma, recalling the attack.

The women screamed for help, but none arrived. The petrol station workers were safe and sound, inside the premises, where the doors had been locked at midnight.

‘The workers just stood there, watching,’ said Latha. At the car, the Mat Rempit ordered the girls to hand over their valuables and handphones. One of them just couldn’t wait. He yanked Uma’s gold bracelet off one wrist and at the same time snatched the handphone she held in the other hand.

Despite fearing for their lives, the girls put up a fight, trying to prevent the robbers from getting away with their belongings. The scuffles only led to injuries, but fortunately, minor ones.
Ragas was hit on the head several times, while Chittra sustained injuries on her neck and right arm, besides suffering an injury to the lower lip. She was then beaten up with a soda can.
‘The whole incident really traumatised us but what was worse was the fact the workers did not even bother to help,’ said Uma.

This is one nightmare they do not ever want to experience again. And, for them at least, no more filling up fuel at night, or stopping anywhere either during the wee hours. Their total loss: RM3,000 in cash and valuables.

The five made a report at the Brickfields police station soon after recovering from the shock of the attack. Police said they are investigating, and have yet to identify the culprits. The women also expressed their frustration over the Mat Rempit menace.

‘So much has been said, so much anger and frustration has been expressed over these motorcycle thugs… but yet they seem to be having a free run,’ said Chittra.
Their only hope is that justice will be done, that the CCTV images captured by the surveillance camera will lead to arrests and conviction.

Appendixes

 

Statistics

Vehicle Related Accidents Comparison from June-July 2009

2009 2009     VEHICLE RELATED JUNE JULY DIFFERENCE % MOTORCYCLE 8453 9026 573 6.8 CAR 34764 34270 -494 -1.4 VAN 1667 1617 -50 -3.0 STAGE BUS 319 388 69 21.6 MINI BUS 47 31 -16 -34.0 SCHOOL BUS 84 129 45 53.6 FACTORY BUS 91 95 4 4.4 EKSPRES BUS 191 155 -36 -18.8 SMALL LORRIES 1475 1627 152 10.3 A LORRY 1595 1568 -27 -1.7 TRELER 971 1063 92 9.5 4 WHEEL DRIVER 1847 1872 25 1.4 TAXI 692 706 14 2.0 BICYCLE 176 253 77 43.8 OTHER 845 1120 275 32.5 TOTAL VECHICLE RELATED 53217 53920 703 1.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fatality Comparison of Motocyle Rider and Pillion between State for 2008 (Between June and July)

2008 2008     STATE JUNE JULY DIFFERENCE % PERLIS 4 4 0 0.0 KEDAH 29 33 4 13.8 P.PINANG  24 27 3 12.5 PERAK 41 31 -10 -24.4 SELANGOR 49 53 4 8.2 K.LUMPUR 10 12 2 20.0 N.SEMBILAN 16 19 3 18.8 MELAKA 9 8 -1 -11.1 JOHOR 59 48 -11 -18.6 PAHANG 18 23 5 27.8 KELANTAN 17 15 -2 -11.8 TERENGGANU 8 12 4 50.0 SABAH 10 6 -4 -40.0 SARAWAK 10 9 -1 -10.0 TOTAL 304 300 -4 -1.3

 

http://panducermat.org.my/

 

 

 

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[1]  http://www.bernama.com/bernama/state_news

[2] http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp

[3] http://www.mohdalirustam.com/

[4] http://www.bernama.com/bernama/state_news

[5]  http://www.nst.com.my/

[6] http://www.perkid.net/

[7] http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp

[8] http://ww2.publicbank.com.my/cnt_press256.html

[9] http://malaysiacrimewatch.lokety.com/ops-sepadu-drives-kl-crime-rate-down-19/

 

[10] http://www.jkjr.gov.my/

[11] http://www.shell.com/

[12] http://www.kbs.gov.my/

[13]  Adolescence and emerging adulthood: a cultural approach. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Second edition.  Prentice hall. 2004. Pg 167.

[14]  Ibid.

[15]  Ibid.

[16]  Ibid.

[17]  Ibid.

[18]  Ibid.

[19]  Ibid.

[20]  Ibid.

[21]  Ibid.

[22] Ibid.

[23]  Adolescence. John W. Santrock. Eighth edition. 2001. Pg 152.

[24]  Ibid.

[25]  Ibid.

[26]  Ibid.

[27]  Ibid.

[28]  ibid. Pg 177.

[29]  Ibid.

[30]  Op.cit. Adolescence and emerging adulthood: a cultural approach. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Second edition.  Prentice hall. 2004. Pg 247.

[31]  Ibid.

[32]  Ibid.

[33]  Op. cit. Adolescence. John W. Santrock. Eighth edition. 2001. Pg 192.

[34]  Ibid.

[35]  Ibid.

[36]  Social problems: society in crisis. Daniel J. Curran. Claire M. Renzetti. Fifth edition. Allyn and Bacon. 2000.

[37]  Ibid.

[38]  Ibid.

[39]  Ibid.

[40]  Ibid.

[41]  Op. cit. Adolescence. John W. Santrock. Eighth edition. 2001. Pg 379.

[42]  Ibid.

[43]  Ibid.

[44]  Ibid. Pg 233.

[45]  Ibid.

[46]  Ibid.

[47]  Ibid.

[48]  Ibid.

[49]  Understanding social problems. Linda A.Mooney. David Knox. Caroline Schacht. Third edition.Wadsworth/Thomson learning. 2002. Pg. 110.

[50]  Ibid.

[51]  Ibid.

[52]  Ibid.

[53]  Ibid.

[54]  Ibid.

[55]  Ibid.

[56]  Ibid.

[57]  Ibid.

[58]  Ibid.

[59] Adolescence. Eastwood Atwater. Third edition. Prentice hall. 1992. Pg 351.

[60]  Ibid.

[61]  Ibid.

[62]  Ibid.

[63]  Ibid. pg 353.

[64]  Ibid.

[65]  Ibid.

[66]  Ibid.

[67]  Adolescence. John W. Santrock. Eighth edition. 2001. Pg 288.

[68]  Ibid.

[69]  Ibid.

[70]  Ibid.

[71]  Ibid. Eighth edition. 2001. Pg 407.

[72]  Ibid.

[73]  Ibid.

[74]  Ibid.

[75]  Ibid.

[76]  Ibid.

[77]  Ibid.

[78]  Ibid.

‘Azl (Contraception in Islam)

‘Azl

‘Azl (عزل) is the Arabic word for isolation. In an Islamic context, it refers to withdrawal, intercourse characterized by withdrawal of the penis before ejaculation. Most Muslim scholars say that this act must be done with the consent of the wife, stating that the wife has the right to conceive. Some maintain that the husband alone has the right to choose.

Contraception: Permissible?

Question: If a Muslim mother has a six-month-old baby and is breast-feeding him, can she take precautions against another pregnancy at least for three years, to preserve her health and that of the baby? Is Intra-uterine Device (IUD) allowed in Islam? What does Islam say about using contraceptive pills? Answer: One of the major purposes of marriage in Islam is procreation, as it is the divinely appointed method of propagating human species on the face of the earth. Furthermore, Islam considers children as a source of blessing. While procreation through marriage is highly recommended, Islam equally stresses the importance of rearing and nurturing children who are the future leaders and assets of the community and humanity. Parenting demands adequate care and attention on the part of parents, in the absence of which, children will simply become a burden. Islam encourages having many children and has blessed both male and female progeny. However, it allows the Muslim to plan his family due to valid reasons and recognized necessities. The common method of contraception at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was ‘azl (withdrawal of the penis from the vagina just before ejaculation) thus preventing semen from entering the vagina. The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) engaged in this practice during the period of the Qur’anic revelation. Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said,  ‘We practiced ‘azl during the time of Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) while the Qur’an was being revealed.’ (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim) Another version of this hadith, narrated by Muslim, reads, ‘We practiced ‘azl during the time of Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He came to know about it, but he did not prohibit it.’ In a gathering at which `Umar was present, someone remarked, ‘Some say that ‘azl is a minor form of burying a child alive.’ To this `Ali replied, ‘This is not so before the completion of seven stages (of reproduction): being a product of the earth, then a drop of semen, then a clot, then a little lump of tissue, then bones, then bones clothed with flesh, which then become like another creation.’ ‘You are right,’ said `Umar, ‘May Allah prolong your life.’ Valid Reasons for Contraception: The first valid reason for contraception is the fear that the pregnancy or delivery might endanger the life or health of the mother; the criterion of determining this possibility is experience or the opinion of a reliable physician. Allah Almighty says: ‘… And do not be cast into ruin by your own hands….’ (Al-Baqarah: 195) and, ‘… and kill not one another. Lo! Allah is ever Merciful unto you.’ (An-Nisa’: 29) Another reason is the fear that the burden of children may hamper the family’s circumstances so much that one might accept or do something haram (unlawful) to satisfy their needs. Allah says: ‘… Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire hardship for you…’ (Al-Baqarah: 185) and, ‘… It is not Allah’s desire to place a burden upon you…’ (Al-Ma’idah: 7) Another valid reason is the fear that the new pregnancy or a new baby might harm a suckling child. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) termed intercourse with a nursing mother, or rather the intercourse, which results in pregnancy while the mother is still nursing a baby, ‘Gheelah,’ emphasizing the fact that pregnancy would pollute the milk thus causing great harm to the suckling infant. Since he was greatly concerned with the welfare of his Ummah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) dissuaded people from what would harm them. Among the Prophet’s remarks on this issue is ‘Do not kill your children secretly, for Gheelah overtakes the rider and throws him from the horse.’ (Reported by Abu Dawud) The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not, however, go so far as to prohibit intercourse with a nursing mother, as he noted that the Persians and Greeks, the two most powerful nations of his time, practiced it without any resulting injury to their children. Moreover, he feared that it would be a great hardship for husbands to abstain from their wives during the period of suckling, which may last up to two years. He said, ‘I intended to prohibit Gheelah, if not for the fact I noticed that the Persians and the Greeks suckled their children during pregnancy without any injury being caused to their children as a result.’ (Reported by Muslim) Ibn Al-Qayyim, in comparing this hadith to the one quoted just before it ‘Do not kill your children secretly…’ says, ‘The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw that pregnancy harms the suckling infant in the same way as being thrown off a horse harms a rider: it is injurious, but not to the extent of killing the baby. He advised them to avoid intercourse leading to pregnancy while the woman is nursing an infant, but he did not prohibit it. He then intended to prohibit it in order to save the health of the suckling child if not that he considered the gravity of the danger this would cause the husband, especially the young ones, and the effect of that on society. On balancing these matters, therefore, he preferred not to prohibit it. Moreover, he saw that in the two most powerful and populous nations of his time, (women) suckled their children during pregnancy without any negative effect on their strength or numbers, and accordingly he refrained from prohibiting it.’ (Ibn Al-Qayyim, Miftah Dar Al-Sa`adah, p. 620; also see Zad Al-Mi`ad, vol. 4 p. 26) In our time, new methods of contraception are available which realize the objective intended by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that of protecting the suckling infant from any possible harm which may occur due to the pregnancy of his mother while at the same time avoiding the hardship to the husband in abstaining from sexual relations with his nursing wife. From this we may conclude that from the Islamic point of view the ideal spacing between two children is thirty months, or, if one wants to nurse the baby for two full years, then thirty-three months.” Sheikh M. S. Al-Munajjid, a prominent Saudi Islamic lecturer and author, adds: “The answer to question of contraception is found in the following three points: 1. Giving birth is the right of both husband and wife, and neither one of them has the right to deprive the other from doing so. 2. It is prohibited to take any measure, which would permanently prevent pregnancy, or cause infertility. It is permissible, however, to use temporary birth control methods to delay pregnancy, as in the case of delaying pregnancy for the two years of breastfeeding the first child. 3. It is prohibited to use any birth control method which would harm the body, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Do not (impose) harm, nor (inflect) harm.'” [Quoted, from: Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)]