A proposal to close certain roads in Kuala Lumpur to allow motorcycle races by amateurs, popularly known as Mat Rempit, will do little to improve the quality of life of city dwellers, a DAP leader said.

Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor yesterday proposed a programme, similar to the Kuala Lumpur ‘Car Free Day’ Sunday, to allow ‘rempit’ races.

However, DAP Wanita assistant publicity secretary Syerleena Abdul Rashid slammed the proposal, saying allowing untrained drivers to race not only discounts safety risks, but fails to address the root cause of the problem.

“Malaysians deserve the chance to live financially sustainable lives in emotionally healthy homes.

“They deserve the opportunity to acquire skills and knowledge needed to survive in a rapidly-developing nation.

“Sanctioning illegal street racing will provide none of the above and is simply a bad idea. Therefore, the government must exercise absolute diligence before supporting such a controversial move,” Syerleena ( photo ) said in a statement.

She said researchers found those who partake in “harmful activities”, such as illegal street racing, come from troubled or lower-income homes, and are pushed to the activity through boredom, peer pressure or poor parental supervision.

The ‘Mat Rempit’ subculture is “closely-linked” with gang-related activities, Syerleena said.

'Wrong kind of message'

“The idea behind the street racing culture is to form teams and to race against one another - often regarded as a form of organised crime or gang activity.

“This is absolutely the wrong kind of message any government should be sending. If anything, this is a weak approach that will only ineffectively address one of the many social ills plaguing our country,” she said.

Syerleena said it was “pathetic” that after so many years, the government has yet to conduct sufficient research to find sustainable means to address the Mat Rempit issue.

Tengku Adnan said yesterday the Federal Territories Ministry is in talks with “friends in Umno and BN” and the Kuala Lumpur mayor to allow street racing for one or two days in a week, at specific areas.

In 2006, then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi officiated a ceremony to rebrand the 'Mat Rempit' as 'Mat Cemerlang'.

'Rempit' is Malay slang for illegal racers, while ‘cemerlang’ means excellent in Bahasa Malaysia.

The 'Mat Cemerlang' rebranding ceremony at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium was spearheaded by then Putrera Umno chairperson Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim.

The aim was to encourage those involved in the ‘rempit subculture’ to reform by becoming contributing members of society.