Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Harsh Punishment For "Samseng Jalan"

Mat Rempits are now to be referred to as "samseng jalan".

The term "Mat Rempit' has been found to be somewhat glamourising for the things they've been doing.

It gives them a high and they are encouraged and, of course, emboldened, to continue doing their dangerous antics on our roads.

They are a real menace because they ride their motorcycles in big numbers -- very very fast and threatening to other road users.

Despite some of them having been caught and convicted, the punishment meted out has not been a deterrent.

Currently, the punishment for reckless driving is a jail term of not more than five years or a fine of between RM5,000 and RM10,000, or both.

But Federal traffic police chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Abd Aziz Yusof said that most of them only have to pay a fine when convicted.

He thinks this is too light. I think so too. That is why the police are calling for mandatory jail for these samseng jalan convicted of endangering the public by speeding or riding recklessly.

Abd Aziz said the (proposed) harsher punishment is meant to strike fear into them.

Well, I don't know of anybody who is tolerant, let alone, forgiving of these guys' dangerous antics on the road.

I know personally, of people who were victims of these samseng. A traumatic experience.

I am a frequent user of their favourite stretch in Damansara during times they are active - after midnight.
That is the route I take from my father's house in Section 16, PJ to my house in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.

I have had close calls with these menacing monkeys.
One time after midnight and on returning from a "tahlil" at my sister's house in Subang Jaya, I was caught at a traffic intersection near Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
I was so incensed by their antics that I wanted to mow them down but, of course, the grace of God stopped me. :-). And the fact that Adel and Shaira were with me.

All this is good, of course. Let's hope that traffic enforcement against them is just as tough, in order to be effective. Not the occasional token operations.

16 comments:

Cat-from-Sydney said...

As we'd say in feline world - SPAY THEM!!! Whoa...am I too harsh? Now, what happened to all those consultants hired to study this Mat Rempit phenomenon? Putting them in jail is only wasting taxpayers' funds, what if we get them to do community work? Clean up drains in Chow Kit, polishing mirrors of Twin Towers, Dayabumi etc...meow...meow...meow...

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

cat,

you know there's something i wanted to point out...i have always been supportive of non-jail sentence for certain offences. i do believe that offences like shop-lifting, and other minor ones should carry community services as punishment.

as for the mat rempit...i'm not sure if community work is a deterrent. i m so aware that jailing so many of them would indeed crowd our prisons. that's why the authorities should work out ways to prevent them from using roads to monkey around in their puny machines.
they should be scared to use public roads. the thing is these samseng love a good dare.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Nuraina,
My Mama says I should call you aunty or makcik (in her language) to show respect...hmmm...anyway, I don't know if the current Aussie govt crackdown on bikies made headlines elsewhere in the world. You don't get to see those puny teeny weeny "cekai" bikes Mat Rempits use down here. Bikers use high-powered ones like Harley Davidson, Cagiva, BMW etc only. These gangs recently made headlines because of gang rivalries - Mafia on Bikes, sort of. Then further investigations reveal they are also involved in drugs and a host of other big time criminal activities. Come to think of it, at least some people are supporting Modenas and Honda....heheheh...meow...

Jordan said...

I hope the new name means the authorities will crack down on ALL rude and reckless drivers, not just those who ride motorcycles. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Orgkpgdoha said...

"Mat Rempit" change into "Samseng Jalanan" does the words matter? and yet the habit is still there..

It is a hobby for the rough rider to show their skill at public, punishment not enough to change their attitude, parents the best person to change them..

"looking back 20 years ago..no mat rempit on road but only mat vespa".....

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

cat,

ooh. yes. of course. i agree with your mama..

:-)

thank you, my dar, for the "insight".

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

Jordan,

I so so agree!

Anonymous said...

mats rempit = heros !
samsengs jalan !? GOOD, 100% setuju !

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Nuraina,
My Mama taught me a new thing today - how to follow other people's blogs. So, in honour of our...ehem...relationship, I've signed up as your blog follower. Also because my Mama said you were nice to her when she was a colleague of yours at a certain fourth floor....

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

Cat,

ooh. so your mama and i know each other. cool!

snyway, thank you for, er, celebrating our "relationship".

take care and regards to your mama. do thank her for the nice words. tell her that i was nice to her because she must have been a nice person, and was nice to me.

take care...

Whatif said...

Maam,

The key to most of our problems including that of Mat Rempit, is education. We need to educate our children and teenagers to be responsible for their actions especially those that may hurt other people.

We need to channel the excess energy of our young people to something worthwhile and of benefit.

Can our Minister of Education do something? Increasing the sentence is not a long term solution.

vinnan said...

UMNO needs these samsengs. Look at how UMNO youth used them to intimidate the non-Malay voters in the BKT. Gantang by-election. Moreover, I doubt if Najib have the guts to take on them when he shows how pondan he is in running away from Penanti. I do not know what the upper echelon of UMNO thinks in his refusal to fight in Penanti but I can assure you the BN component parties know they have never seen such a pondan UMNO PM. Badawi in this respect has more down south than Najib will ever have.

Mike Tan said...

Are we witnessing the end result?

For those housing estates situated
near some kampung,very often we see groups of young boys and girls
riding motorbikes ,without helmet
on top of that.Aren't their parents
worried about theirs and other road users' safety?How do they get hold of the motorbike keys?

Bad habits are easy to pick up and
difficult to rid off.Nip it at the bud before it blooms.

Anonymous said...

I have a strange believe that some big taikor is sponsoring their life styles. Some one is behind all these?

You see, almost all these Mat Rempit Samsengs belong to the Malay race. Somehow, the Chinese and Indian youths are smart enough to stay out of this moral decadence.

Therefore, it is purely my speculative mind that points to an agenda to weaken one race by getting them to get high and do the unthinkable.

No, this is not a fact, but just a puzzling personal thought.

A GOOD MAN DOES NOTHING.

Anonymous said...

dun bimbang, the sil is supporting them , his macais laa !!

aiyomanaboleh said...

"The term "Mat Rempit' has been found to be somewhat glamourising for the things they've been doing."

We have got our good looking guy sort of indirectly give his thumps up for this sort of things, what more do you expect? and now we have got this minister guy saying not all of them are bad, just some of them.

Where to Malaysia?