Penang 'Mat Rempit' the start of Umno-backed anarchy ahead of GE-13

What was it that the police and Barisan Nasional (BN) government labelled the “Mat Rempit”? If the police and BN are suffering from amnesia, let me refresh their memory – road thugs.

The police and BN had said the people should not glorify the term Mat Rempit because these road bullies are no different from gangsters and mobsters. They are a nuisance and a threat to peace-loving Malaysians.

Then, what happened in George Town?

There was no clampdown on the road thugs who were allowed to roam the streets and make their way to the Penang State Assembly to demonstrate, illegally I supposed. Or was there a police permit?

Unlike the peaceful Bersih 2.0 demonstrators, who were brutally attacked by the police, this did not happen to the road thugs. And what were the demands of the Bersih demonstrators? They just want the universal rights of the people to have free and fair elections.

In the case of the road thugs, the police just stood and watch, allowing the them to create havoc and scream racially-tainted abuses.

And do you remember there were injuries and deaths caused by such road thugs, as related by the police in the past?

Malaysia is now lawless

So, what do you have now in Malaysia? Like I had written and feared, Malaysia is today a lawless state.

The law is used to serve only BN-Umno’s interest, not the people. Umno is the law, not the Federal Constitution, the police or the judiciary.

How else to explain the lack of action by the police against the road thugs? When they serve BN-Umno’s interest, it is okay. Public safety can take a back seat.

In defence of the road thugs, I won’t be surprised if BN-Umno will respond next to say that Mat Rempit is our “kebudayaan” (culture). Buy that if you are a hardcore BN-Umno supporter.

And what a ridiculous demand the road thugs are making? They want the state government to use taxpayers’ money to build a race track for them. I guess the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)-led state government should for the first time support the BN-Umno’s cause for the road thugs.

Build the race track, let the road thugs zoom as they please and kill one another in crashes.

Police are a disgrace

The Police di-Raja Malaysia is in a shameful state. It has abandoned its most important role – to protect the people against criminals, mobsters.

Imagine what would have happened if, in the midst of the rowdy demonstration by the road thugs, an accident had occurred? Who is to blame? The road thugs or the police?

The Sun reported today (Nov 2, 2011) that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told the State Assembly that he was “a little bit shaken” by the demonstration by some 300 motorcyclists.

I can see why Lim is shaken. The police let loose and allowed the thugs to roam the streets. We peace-loving Malaysians now cannot even rely on the police to provide basic public safety.

The BN-Umno government and the system are in near collapse as can be seen by the police’s support for the road thugs.

State-backed anarchy to stay in power

The fear of losing political power has made them paranoid, resorting to devious and unethical means to drum up racial and religious discord to remain in power. The strategy of BN-Umno is clear – divide and rule.

They have also forgotten the need to promote a conducive environment to maintain the confidence of investors – both local and foreign.

As long as BN-Umno can stir racial and religious hatred in Malaysians, BN will have the advantage to remain in power, they think.

Sadly, that is yesterday’s thinking. Today, Malaysians are more informed and educated in the digital era. They can judge an issue better.

BN-Umno, like what many have said and described, is a dinosaur wanting to become extinct as they continue to alienate themselves from the majority of peace-loving Malaysians.

Let us hope sanity prevails in the next general election before all is lost.

- Jackson Ng is a retired journalist