Govt Clueless About Mat Lajak Mat Rempit Menace

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For most Mat Rempits and Mat Basikals (Mat Lajaks), it is not just the thrill of the race, or of winning. It is the fame attached to being a champion. It is about sticking two fingers up at the police and a triumph of sorts at being able to defy one's parents.
If you've been surrounded by a gang of Mat Rempits (boy racers) on the road, then you will know that the experience is both frightening and horrid. If it is at night, and you appear to be the only motorist who is not part of the Mat Rempit's band of spectators, you will feel extremely vulnerable.
Being surrounded by a gang of Mat Lajaks (Mat Basikals) is no different or any safer, just because they are on bicycles.
I, like many other road-users, have been traumatised by the Mat Rempit menace. One reason I have not come across Mat Basikals is probably because there are few hills in the roads near to where I live.
Mat Rempits, like Mat Lajaks, appear out of nowhere and drive close to you without keeping a safe distance. They weave in and out of traffic and do not care about road safety.
Perhaps, you turned the corner or came down the crest of a hill, and stumbled into the middle of an illegal race. The bikers may tease you, and if you are driving slowly to avoid any collision, they will bang their fists on the roof of your car and gesticulate at you.
They may even overtake and then slow down ahead of you, forcing you to brake hard, so as not to collide with them. It does not bear thinking what would happen if you were to accidentally hit them.
Several videos have been made of Mat Lajaks or Mat Basikals. Watching them makes you wonder if these boys have a death wish, or are just plain stupid. For them, life is cheap.
There are a few scenarios which will fill anyone with dread if they were to find themselves trapped in the middle of an illegal Mat Lajak race. Anything can happen in a split second at the speeds they travel.
In an interview with a 14-year-old whose legs were amputated after he crashed his bicycle, he said that what mattered most to him and his friends, was to win.
They wanted to be first in the race. They were desperate for fame.
As champions of their kampung, he said that competitions were arranged, often with little notice, with other basikal lajak champions representing other towns.
These racers will ignore any driver hooting at them to get out of the way. They will not care if you are behind them, in front of them, or beside them.
They have no qualms about taking over three lanes. They are not bothered if they are not considered legitimate road-users. Rules are not meant for them. You are at their mercy.
Lackadaisical attitude
Malaysians who have not experienced Mat Rempits or Mat Lajaks do not know the dangers and terrors they pose. Those who demand legitimate road users drive without being reckless, need to do two things.
Firstly, define reckless driving.
Secondly, try to experience the horrors of driving on a road frequented by Mat Lajaks and their supporters/spectators. These people are potentially violent and lawless. Workers on night shift dread encountering them on their journey home.
Most bicycling enthusiasts who achieve international recognition take years to train. They focus on technique, not just speed. They are safety conscious and disciplined, whereas all the Mat Lajaks want is fame.
Someone who suddenly finds himself in the middle of a Mat Basikal group is left with few choices. He may not be able to overtake because all the lanes are dominated by these teenagers.
These boys are on bicycles that have no brakes, meaning they have no ability to slow down safely, and no control once they get fast enough.
If they were to see an obstruction like a parked car ahead, or something on the road surface like a branch or a pothole, they cannot stop in time because they cannot brake.
They could shift to their right or their left to avoid the parked car, branch or pothole; but because they ride very close to one another, and at high speeds, the chances are that they will clip another cyclist, and bring him tumbling down and potentially cause a chain reaction.
Just imagine the ensuing carnage. One boy clips his rival and like dominoes, they all fall down. They may not fall down in a heap but because they were speeding, some may be thrown several feet away.
If you happen to be driving slowly behind these boys, you may not have deliberately hit any of them, but more importantly, the cyclists were thrown into the path of your car. It would be wrong to say that you had "mown down the boys", or "ploughed into them".
The boys fell into the driver's path but because this happened in a split second, you had no time to apply your brakes. So, are you at fault? You could also panic at the sight of several boys falling in front of you, and you suddenly apply your brakes hard, only to skid, probably onto the fallen boys. So, again, are you to blame?
For decades, there has been no political will to resolve both the Mat Lajak and Mat Rempit problems. There is no desire by many parents to set boundaries for their children.
There is poor enforcement and a lackadaisical attitude by the various government departments to deal with this growing menace.
The Mat Lajak case has shown that we have laws to stop this menace, but like most other rules in Malaysia, they are badly enforced. What's preventing the authorities from strictly enforcing the laws?
For the rest of us, please stay safe. Install a dashcam. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, Twitter.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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