Malaysia's "hell riders" plague city streets

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Reuters) Dozens of young Malaysian men hurtle through late-night city traffic on small motorbikes in a race that could easily end in death.

It's a typical Saturday night in cities and towns across the country as thousands of bikers, calling themselves Mat Rempit (hell riders), take to the streets, racing at up to 160 kph and performing hair-raising stunts.

A split-second misjudgement can be fatal while weaving through cars and trucks at such speeds, but these youths run this risk every weekend in the hope of winning money or a girl for the night but, above all, the respect of their peers.

Mat Rempit is a fraternity of jobless and lowly paid men for whom cheating death is a path to glory, a way of earning respect.

''They are in their own world,'' said Abdul Azeez Rahim, a leader of the youth wing of Malaysia's main ruling party, which has tried to engage Mat Rempit with an outreach programme. ''They will die for each other.'' Mat Rempit, in their trademark tight blue jeans, do more than race. They also risk death or serious injury with stunts like the reverse wheelie -- riding downhill on only the front wheel - and the ''superman,'' hurtling along while lying flat on the bike.

''It is exhilarating to race down a road. All I need is just a few ringgit for fuel and I can have the time of my life,'' courier Amir Fairuz told Reuters as he prepared for an illegal street race on a recent Friday night.

Mat Rempit races can also turn violent.

Recently, a 21-year-old man was killed after two groups of Mat Rempit clashed over a minor accident during an illegal race in Kuala Lumpur. Last year, bikers clubbed a motorist to death.

In October, a group went on a rampage in the trendy Kuala Lumpur suburb of Bangsar, smashing car windscreens after a resident yelled at them for making noise early in the morning. In the same month, about 20 Mat Rempit stoned a police station in northern Penang state after police arrested two from their gang.

''Mat Rempit, the 21-century challenge for our sociologists, politicians and law enforcers, are now public enemy No.1,'' the pro-government New Straits Times daily declared recently.

'SHOW-OFF CULTURE' Rozmi Ismail, psychology lecturer at Malaysia's Universiti Kebangsaan, met some 100 Mat Rempit for a study into the subject. He attributes their behaviour to a ''show-off'' culture.

''Some of the Mat Rempit are school dropouts. They are bored and they need to find cheap thrills,'' he said. ''With just 10 ringgit for petrol, they can race until dawn.'' There are an estimated 200,000 Mat Rempit, some as young as 16. Most are factory workers, couriers and office assistants, many earning about 333 dollars a month or less.

More Reuters LL GC0912