Rempitism (PART 1)

Introduction

Rempitism is seemingly a dangerous uprising trend among Malaysian teens especially the Malays. This group of rebellious and wild teenagers, with their daredevil stunts on their bikes, time and again brings disasters to the appalled society. These teenagers have caused many accidents on the road, and mostly ended in tragic deaths; cracked heads and spilled brains, dismembered body parts and etc. Rempitism is believed to give the meaning of the idea of a group of individuals, known as Mat Rempits, to show their bravado on the road and handling their bikes fancifully no matter what it will cost. They always wanted to be seen as talented riders, the brave and the bold ones even though they know their actions are not legal. Ironically, they were never been loved by the society, rather they are despised. 

Etymology

According to Mazlan Pet Pet, a famous comedian from the Senario group, the word rempit is actually onomatopoeia for the sound of rumbling vehicles when the engines purr. The “rem rem’ sound is produced when a motorist starts a vehicle and heats up its engine, while “pipipipipit” sound can be heard when he speeds up and races with the other racers. Thus, the combination of both sounds simply produces a new word: rempit. Rempit is treated as verb and noun, i.e. merempit, dirempit, rempitan and kerempitan. 

 

Factors which Lead to the Rise of Rempitism

1- The misconception of the word ‘brave’.

There’s in every kid’s heart the feeling to crave for unnecessary attention and acknowledgment from the people around them, particularly their parents and friends, so much so they’d do almost everything that may catch their eyes. To ride their bikes speedily, skilfully and bravely like a cowboy mounting a stallion is taken as cool and heroic by them. Additionally, these unlucky children had always seen their irresponsible fathers who were behind the wheels, ‘heroically’ overtook the other cars and said to the kids, “this is what a real man does, boy”. This wrong action indirectly taught the children a completely different and incorrect meaning of ‘bravery’. Children will always regard their fathers as their heroes, and they will always look up to them. They tend to follow what the elder do. Worst of all, the psychological urge to be praised for bravery is mistakenly converted into illegal actions on the road.

2- The desire to be seen as a grown-up.

“I am already a grown-up, so please don’t treat me like a kid!” a 10-year-old boy was caught yelling and uttering this ironic-yet-ambitious-but-absolutely-stupid statement to his mother after he was being grounded for his kerempitan at the road in front of his school.(Kerempitan is the state where a boy or teenager becomes a Mat Rempit and observes the idea of Rempitism). To tell the Mat Rempits the truth, they are actually trying relentlessly to put up their macho in front of others, but unfortunately, in the wrong place and at the wrong time and through wrong manners. They are just a bunch of immature, despicable, damned douchebags who ought to display their idea of being macho, a disposition that exist in some grown-ups on the road using their cheap bikes.

3- The bad influence from Kamen Rider (not yet scientifically proven).

Kamen Rider is a famous Japanese superhero armed with powerful armoured body suit and a cool superbike in combating evil forces. It is undeniably true that this show has been winning the heart of Malaysian children since their first broadcast in the early 90’s. The thing is, children love the show very much and they can’t help missing a single episode for they might die from frustration if this happens. The epic images of Kamen Riders riding beautifully on their bikes while on their way to take out the monsters are all ingrained in the children’s psyche. The amazement that fills their heart gradually turns out to become a hardcore admiration to the fictional hero; some kids built Kamen Rider costumes on their own using boxes(well that was creative), while some others tend to engage in fights( role-play as Kamen Rider and monsters). However, the worst of all would be the under-aged kids who would go as far as riding their father’s motorcycles to feel the actual sensation of being a Kamen Rider. This habit continued as they become addicted with the esctacy of riding motorcycles while imagining they are Kamen Riders. After several years, they’d change/transform/henshin into Mat Rempits. Yeah, they would. Some Kamen Riders they are now.

4-   Stupidity

This is the strongest factor that leads teenagers to become Mat Rempits. Their own stupidity drags them to be one of a hell damnable member of the society. Yes. They choose to be stupid because they are stupid. 

                                                   A nice masterpiece of Death. Cool.

And spend in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad of all kinds,) and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah), and do good. Truly, Allah loves the good-doers. (Al- Baqarah:195) 

 Repent before its too late. Rempit is not an option.