Sunday, January 27, 2008

R.E.M.P.I.T.

ahhhhh yes. Rempit. a term we encounter almost every day. and for those who watch the NTV7's Edisi Siasat long time ago or TV3 360’s regularly, you must be so familiar with this term.

but, how do you define REMPIT? seriously, what constitutes a person to be a Mat Rempit?

to my understanding, merempit means the act of "press minyak" or "tekan minyak" motor. am i right? but i guess it means more than that now.

is it an attitude?
is it a culture?
is it racial motivated?
is it simply an act of riding a Honda EX5 110cc (or other motorcycles with the same cc)?

let's face it. unfortunately, we can say almost all (if not all) Mat Rempits are young adrenaline-rush-seeker Malay men, which can vary from the time they are able to ride motorcycles (illegally or not) until the age of 30. or 35. errmm, perhaps there's no age limit. heck you can be a 45 year old father and still be a Mat Rempit at heart. is it?

i'm not an expert at this. i might be wrong. i did not conduct a proper survey or interviews for this topic, but using my limited observation, i believe that the term "Rempit" is a culture created because of the economic factor. the wealth gap we have in this country, even though not as drastic like other countries especially India, "produce" this culture. from the way i see it, these Mat Rempits ride motorcycles because they can't afford to buy cars. have you ever seen an anak Datuk wandering around with an EX5? no, he'll choose an EVO8 or other smooth rides to do that. Mat Rempits prefer "bundles" at night markets because it's freakin' cheap. they hang out at shopping complexes because they can't afford to do other things that fortunate ones are able to do. but when do they do the things they do, we see "Mat Rempits" from a new different angle. it's an attitude.

they way the society see it is you don't have to ride a motorcycle to be a Mat Rempit, you can be one by thinking and acting like one. when a young Malay guy harrass a girl at a bus station or somethin' (trying to get the girl's number in an improper manner, to Malaysians' standard), we always associate that with Rempit. some friends i know mentioned that this mentality is closely related to the "kampung background", hence implying Mat Rempits with the words "jakun", "pemikiran kampung", "kecoh", etc. isk isk.

the stereotypes associated with Mat Rempits:

Official ride: Motorcyles under 125cc? or 100cc?
Official activities: Illegal racing, melepak, snooker/pool, karaoke, hanging out outside nightclubs to check out chicks, main game/arcade, carik kasut & seluar bundle, kacau anak dara orang
Official shopping complex/spots: Pertama, Summit USJ, etc
Official music: Rock kapak, Malay songs?
Official accessories: Helmet, usually filled with stickers
Official attire: T-shirt bundle, Jeans bundle, Kasut bundle
Official lines:
i) Feeewwwwwiiitttttttttttttttt~
ii) Hai cik adik, bole berkenalan?
iii) Assalamu'aikum dik, kalau tak jawab berdosa, kalau jawab gatal..

hahaha im out! This is a sequel of  Zatty’s Rempit entry.. =)

just my 2cents at 1:00 PM |

---