Part 186 - 'Street Gangsters' Label On Mat Rempit... (",)

'Street Gangsters' Label On Mat Rempit Inappropriate - Shabery

SEREMBAN, May 23 (Bernama) -- The 'Street Gangsters' label given to Mat Rempit, youths with a penchant for street racing is a bit too much, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek.

He said only a handful of Mat Rempit were involved in crime while the majority were just ordinary youths looking for some fun.

"This explosion of culture happens in many countires like that shown in movies like Tokyo Drift and The Fast and The Furious," he said after presenting prizes to 'Golf Amal 2009' participants at Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak here.

Shabery said the scenario was similar to that during the 1980s when the community was against the craze for Scrambler motorcycles and Breakdance.

Despite disagreeing with the label, the minister said Mat Rempit groups were looking for trouble for racing in the streets rather than at the tracks.

"Mat Rempit are not interested in real racing. They can always join racing clubs if they want to. The closure of Batu 3 track and the distance of Sepang track is not an excuse.

"Building more race tracks is not the solution. They just want to show-off to other road users."

Shabery urged the authorities to tackle the Mat Rempit problem at the source, particularly the role of parents as most of the motorycles used were owned by family members.

-- BERNAMA

Yup, i agree with u Youth and Sports Minister...