Some 300 superbikers staged a demonstration in front of Media Prima Bhd (MPB) headquarters in Petaling Jaya today in protest against a television programme which branded them as “pests”.

The bikers claim that TV3's Majalah 3 programme aired an item which unfairly placed the label on them and demanded that the presenter issue an open apology.

biker protest sri pentas tv3 231212 According to the group’s spokesperson Mohd Shahid Tasiran, the presenter had branded them as ‘ pelesit jalanan ’ (street locusts), which he said was akin to claiming that the bikers were Satanists.

“The term used (by the presenter) is ‘ pelesit jalanan ’. Locusts cooperate with Satan, the Devil. We feel that they are calling us the Devil and ‘Road Satanists’. We want them to retract it,” said Mohd Shahid.

The programme had included a staged arrest of bikers speeding and performing wheelies on the highway.

biker protest sri pentas tv3 231212 A camera crew recorded the event while the presenter lauded the Automated Enforcement System (AES) and uttered the term which the bikers found offensive.

The following week, TV3 apologised for not clearly stating that the arrest of was staged. However, bikers have expressed outrage online over the presenter’s refusal to apologise.

biker protest sri pentas tv3 231212 Earlier, Mohd Shahid submitted the group’s protest note to a senior MPB official. They also demanded that the presenter apologise within two weeks or face further protest.

“Several biker clubs throughout the country are here to hand this protest note to Majalah 3 which labelled bikers as ‘road locusts’.

“We want an apology from Majalah 3 and (the presenter). (TV3 as a company) may have apologised, but we want it to be specific, particularly from (the presenter),” he said.