Riding For Granted

This is one issue that still sizzles: Mat Rempits...

And she was one lucky girl...

Saturday Night

I was out partying with some friends and this caucasian girl was with us. She's on a short working stint with a MNC here. We all had a lots of fun that night and as the night progressed, we were all getting into the mood and most of us were already beyond tipsy. So in the midst of partying, miss expat decided to go back. As you can see in the photo, she's poised to drink her Flamin Lambo. And before that she already had quite a number of beers and after the Flamin, there was more liquour. So yea, she has had enough and like any sensible person (if you can still think straight), the best thing to do is to head home; cos if you've had enough, man, YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH.

Anyways she told someone that she was going back and apparently asked the club security to help her get a cab. No cab came. So they suggested to her that maybe she could walk over to 7-Eleven, which was a short walk away. So she did exactly that and in her tipsy state, proceeded to the 24-hour outlet to try hailing a cab from there. She must've been trying to get a cab for a few minutes when a bunch of motorbikes came vrooming over. Seeing the girl---a pretty one and quite sexily clad---standing alone outside, one of the bikers started talking to her. Shortly after, she hopped on the guy's bike and within a few seconds, the caucasian girl was gone with the mat rempits.

I was standing outside the club talking to a friend when one of the security guards came over and spoke to me. "Do you have a mat salleh (caucasian) girl in your group?" he asked. "Yes, just one." He looked rather concerned. "She's wearing a singlet top right?" I nodded. "Well I think she left with a bunch of mat rempits," he said. For a moment I stood there, silent. "What??" I asked. "I saw her going on a motorbike. There were quite a few of them bikers. Mat rempits lah," he said as if trying to reassure himself.

I told him that's not possible. I mean, why would she just do that?? She wasn't completely plastered out of her mind. She seems very responsible too. "You can go and ask the staff at 7-Eleven. They saw her go off on the bike," said the burly guy. So I did. I walked over to one of the staff and asked. "Yes I did see one girl going on a bike with a bunch of other bikers. Dunno what she was doing with them," said the boy. "Was she mat salleh? Wears a singlet?" I asked. "Yes".

Panicked, I rushed back into the club and told my friends. They thought I was bullshiting or just plain drunk. Some even said there's no way she would just hop on a bike with a bunch of mat rempits. But that's it---DID SHE EVEN KNEW WHAT MAT REMPITS WERE??? Eventually they realised that I wasn't joking around, and proceeded to check with the security guard and a few even walked to 7-Eleven again. The story was verified and confirmed. Handphones came out of pockets...fingers frantically pressing numbers. Some were text messaging. One or two called the hotel, called her handphone. No news. Her phone was off. No answer from her hotel room either. Sobriety came quick to each one.

45 minutes passed. "Should we lodge a police report?" asked the security guard finally. I've thought of that too, but was hoping to hear something good, or anything from the other end of the phone line. Some sign that she was okay. "Not yet. We try again to look for her," I replied. Could the worst possibly happen here? Tonight? To a friend? That thought sent a chill down my spine.

Three of our friends left the club and drove to the hotel. The rest of us were still trying to get her on the phone. We knew her mobile phone was off but we just kept trying. When you become desperate, you tend to just do anything. So we kept dialling, text messaging. It was probably the longest 30-minutes ever for us to hear anything from our three friends. Finally a call came through my mobile. It was one of them. "Hi! She's here la! We went up to her room and started knocking and ringing the bell! She's okay!" I let out a sigh of relief.

The Day After

"Look, he was only a 16-year-old boy okay. How harmful could that have been aye??" she asked, looking surprised that we were all so worried sick about her the night before. "Were there a few of them? Like maybe, 15 at least?" one of the girls asked. "Yea about there." We all looked at each other horrified. "You know what, they are called mat rempits. Do you know what that means?" She didn't. "Well they're a bunch of guys on bikes that go around in big groups and usually they cause a lot of havoc to other road users. At times it can be something seriously damaging. Like people get hurt. People get killed. Maybe raped," another friend explained. "Oh come on he was just 16," she replied trying to reassure herself. "Dear, they usually are about that age!" Her face turned ash-white. "Oh my god...no wonder you guys were so worried. I'm so sorry I didn't know!" She kept apologising and kept thanking her lucky stars that nothing happened to her.

Yes, she was lucky. But what about next time? What about some other expats or visitors who don't know what mat rempits are? Who are so oblivious to these menacing road hogs?

Who was at fault here? The security guard---for not thinking beyond and show a little extra concern for their guests? The mat salleh girl---hitching a ride with a bunch of strangers on bikes because she thinks it's harmless? Or is it really on us---you, me, the government, the society...?