Francis Paul Siah
COMMENT | You are driving and you stop at a traffic light in either Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Chances are you will soon see motorcyclists jostling for space in front of you.
Worse, they will not wait for the light to turn green but will jump the red light given the smallest leeway to do so.
Last week, I was on my way home and had to stop at a red light in Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya. It was past 11pm and traffic was light, thankfully.
I was the first to stop at the traffic light. Later, there were a few cars behind me, all on the lane to turn right. There was another vehicle, an SUV, which stopped parallel to me as it was in the centre lane to move straight ahead.
Just as it was about to turn green, a motorcyclist managed to wriggle its way on my left to the front. He was a typical, impatient biker who always has to be first and in front.
It was at this moment that I was also about to move. The motorbike knocked into my car as it tried to squeeze in the tight space in between two cars and damaged my front bumper.
It was a lucky escape for the young motorcyclist and his pillion rider – an elderly woman, probably his mother. I was more concerned about them falling off their machine as the SUV had already started moving, than anything else.
It would be a disaster if either one of them had fallen, just next to the moving SUV. The driver was probably unaware that there was a fender bender next to him.
As the duo were okay, they quickly sped off at the right turn but not before the young man gave me a few menacing stares, as if I was in the wrong. We know only too well that motorcyclists always think they are right, in any accident.
I am relating this, not so much to make a statement about right or wrong or attempt to claim for the repair of my car - but to give a fair warning to motorcyclists that they are the party likely to get hurt and suffer in any road mishap involving other vehicles.
More vulnerable
It’s not that motorcyclists do not know how vulnerable they are; it’s just that they take things for granted all too often and a reminder now and again will do them good, hopefully.
Motorcycles are much smaller than other vehicles like cars and trucks. This makes them more difficult to see, especially in heavy traffic or in adverse weather conditions.
COMMENT | You are driving and you stop at a traffic light in either Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Chances are you will soon see motorcyclists jostling for space in front of you.
Worse, they will not wait for the light to turn green but will jump the red light given the smallest leeway to do so.
Last week, I was on my way home and had to stop at a red light in Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya. It was past 11pm and traffic was light, thankfully.
I was the first to stop at the traffic light. Later, there were a few cars behind me, all on the lane to turn right. There was another vehicle, an SUV, which stopped parallel to me as it was in the centre lane to move straight ahead.
Just as it was about to turn green, a motorcyclist managed to wriggle its way on my left to the front. He was a typical, impatient biker who always has to be first and in front.
It was at this moment that I was also about to move. The motorbike knocked into my car as it tried to squeeze in the tight space in between two cars and damaged my front bumper.
It was a lucky escape for the young motorcyclist and his pillion rider – an elderly woman, probably his mother. I was more concerned about them falling off their machine as the SUV had already started moving, than anything else.
It would be a disaster if either one of them had fallen, just next to the moving SUV. The driver was probably unaware that there was a fender bender next to him.
As the duo were okay, they quickly sped off at the right turn but not before the young man gave me a few menacing stares, as if I was in the wrong. We know only too well that motorcyclists always think they are right, in any accident.
I am relating this, not so much to make a statement about right or wrong or attempt to claim for the repair of my car - but to give a fair warning to motorcyclists that they are the party likely to get hurt and suffer in any road mishap involving other vehicles.
More vulnerable
It’s not that motorcyclists do not know how vulnerable they are; it’s just that they take things for granted all too often and a reminder now and again will do them good, hopefully.
Motorcycles are much smaller than other vehicles like cars and trucks. This makes them more difficult to see, especially in heavy traffic or in adverse weather conditions.
Objects on the road are also more dangerous to motorcyclists. Debris on the road, potholes, slick surfaces, unevenly paved roads and many other types of road hazards are minor nuisances to larger vehicle drivers but can cause a motorcyclist to lose control, leading to serious accidents and injuries.
Despite these dangers, there are still those who choose to become ‘daredevils’ on our roads and highways by getting involved in illegal racing. Yes, they are the Mat Rempit.
It was not too long ago that we went through a long-running saga over the “basikal lajak” fatal accident in Johor, in which eight youths were killed.
And on July 16, we witnessed another tragic accident of five Mat Rempit who died in a single night of illegal racing in Penang.
An op-ed on Mat Rempit is nothing new. I must have written about the subject countless times over the years.
The typical reaction would be: “It’s about those Mat Rempits again. They will never learn. If they want to continue risking their lives with illegal racing, that’s their choice to make. We cannot stop them.”
However, let me tackle this subject again because I believe we have to seriously enact new laws to handle the Mat Rempit menace.
It is no longer a joke or something funny. It never was, anyway. We must get tough and serious with Mat Rempits immediately.
Take immediate action
Punitive action must be taken immediately. All quarters must understand that this is for the good of our young people as too many of them had their lives tragically cut short in such senseless thrill. The five who were killed in Penang were aged between 17 and 25.
The Mat Rempit menace also, recently, caught the attention of DAP leader Lim Guan Eng, who accused Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong of lacking the political will to crack down on Mat Rempits in the same manner as drunk drivers.
Well, I think it was quite unfair on Lim’s part to blame Wee alone as the Mat Rempit menace has been with us for years.
All transport ministers have to share the blame, including DAP’s Anthony Loke who also served as transport minister for 22 months.
It’s good that Wee has clarified that the proposed amendments to the Land Transport Act to include heavier punishments for drunk drivers would also cover dangerous driving.
This would include illegal racing such as Mat Rempit and basikal lajak riders. He said the proposed amendments to Section 41 to Section 45 of the Land Transport Act (1987) would punish any form of reckless or dangerous driving.
Before penning this subject, I also checked with friends in Sarawak on whether there are Mat Rempits in our homeland. I asked because I have not come across any of these illegal racers while driving in Kuching or in other towns.
Not surprisingly, the answer was in the affirmative.
“There are Mat Rempits all over Sarawak. I have witnessed a few races myself. In Kuching, they raced along Bako Road, and in Sejingkat and Petra Jaya areas”, a friend from Sibu, who has been residing in Kuching for many years, responded.
Seriously, I would like to see how the Sarawak government, which also has a transport minister - Lee Kim Shin - tackles the Mat Rempit menace.
Or do we need to wait for the number of Mat Rempit fatalities in Sarawak to multiply, like in the peninsula, before we get serious and act tough?
FRANCIS PAUL SIAH is a veteran Sarawak editor and heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
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