'I was assaulted by mat rempit in BN shirts'

A man has been hospitalised after he was assaulted by mat rempit (bike gangs) wearing BN T-shirts last Friday in Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras.

Mohd Sulutan Ali, 45, now warded at the Univeristy Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital (HUKM), was hit so hard on the head by a helmet that he was left with a serious blood clog on the left side of his skull.

"The injury required me to undergo a major surgery to stop the bleeding. I was told by the doctor that if I had not sought treatment immediately, I could have died," he told Malaysiakini.

It all started when Sulutan had accidentally hit a youth, believed to be in his early 20s, on his bike at the Jalan Jujur junction with his car at about 10 pm. He then got out to help the youth and had offered to take him to hospital.

Sulutan then said the youth’s father who happened to be nearby had rushed to the scene and immediately attacked him. Much to his surprise, the youth who was hit by Sulutan’s car also got up and took a swing on Sulutan’s head with his helmet.

Half conscious, Sulutan said he then pleaded to the youth and his father to stop hitting him but was ignored.

"That’s when he assaulted me with the helmet again. I was lucky at that time because I had covered my head with my arms but I was not as lucky when the boy struck the third time," he said.

According to his wife Noraliza Abdul Rais, Sulutan had managed to call her before he fainted. She then rushed over only to find out that her husband had been taken to the hospital by bystanders.

"One of the bystanders happened to be our friend. I was shocked to learn from him that the assailants were all BN mat rempit supporters from nearby," she said.

She added that her friend who had witnessed the incident had told her that her husband was actually attacked by many mat rempit , all clad in BN tees.

Sulutan however could not confirm this as he was already unconscious at the scene but he could confirm that the youth who attacked him was wearing a BN tee.

She and the victim’s father Ali Mohd Nor 69 were both in the HUKM ward with Sulutan when Malaysiakini visited. Both appeared to be calm and consoled by the news that their husband and son were safe.

Immune to law?

Sulutan believed the incident was not in anyway political although the attackers were all in BN shirts.

"I am not a member of any party. I don’t believe that the assault was in any way politically motivated," he said.

He was, however, unhappy when informed that the police were slow to act after a report was lodged.

"Just because they are BN workers, they should not be punished?" asked Noraliza while showing a copy of the police report.

According to the report, the case was assigned to Inspector Nasrul from the Sungai Besi police station..

Contacted, Nasrul denied that the police were bias and said the matter is being investigated.

Umno's Putera wing has over the past few years actively recruited the bikers in the bid to help them stay away from 'unhealthy' activities such as illegal street races.

Watch 9-min video of Sulutan's interview