but, how do you define REMPIT? seriously, what constitutes a person to be a Mat Rempit?

to my understanding, merempit means the act of "press minyak" or "tekan minyak" motor. am i right? but i guess it means more than that now.

is it an attitude?
is it a culture?
is it racial motivated?
is it simply an act of riding a Honda EX5 110cc (or other motorcycles with the same cc)?

let’s face it. unfortunately, we can say almost all (if not all) Mat Rempits are young adrenaline-rush-seeker Malay men, which can vary from the time they are able to ride motorcycles (illegally or not) until the age of 30. or 35. errmm, perhaps there’s no age limit. heck you can be a 45 year old father and still be a Mat Rempit at heart. is it?

i’m not an expert at this. i might be wrong. i did not conduct a proper survey or interviews for this topic, but using my limited observation, i believe that the term "Rempit" is a culture created because of the economic factor. the wealth gap we have in this country, even though not as drastic like other countries especially India, "produce" this culture. from the way i see it, these Mat Rempits ride motorcycles because they can’t afford to buy cars. have you ever seen an anak Datuk wandering around with an EX5? no, he’ll choose an EVO8 or other smooth rides to do that. Mat Rempits prefer "bundles" at night markets because it’s freakin’ cheap. they hang out at shopping complexes because they can’t afford to do other things that fortunate ones are able to do. but when do they do the things they do, we see "Mat Rempits" from a new different angle. it’s an attitude.

they way the society see it is you don’t have to ride a motorcycle to be a Mat Rempit, you can be one by thinking and acting like one. when a young Malay guy harrass a girl at a bus station or somethin’ (trying to get the girl’s number in an improper manner, to Malaysians’ standard), we always associate that with Rempit. some friends i know mentioned that this mentality is closely related to the "kampung background", hence implying Mat Rempits with the words "jakun", "pemikiran kampung", "kecoh", etc. isk isk.

the stereotypes associated with Mat Rempits:

Official ride: Motorcyles under 125cc? or 100cc?
Official activities: Illegal racing, melepak, snooker/pool, karaoke, hanging out outside nightclubs to check out chicks, main game/arcade, carik kasut & seluar bundle, kacau anak dara orang
Official shopping complex/spots: Pertama, Summit USJ, etc
Official music: Rock kapak, Malay songs?
Official accessories: Helmet, usually filled with stickers
Official attire: T-shirt bundle, Jeans bundle, Kasut bundle
Official lines:
i) Feeewwwwwiiitttttttttttttttt~
ii) Hai cik adik, bole berkenalan?
iii) Assalamu’aikum dik, kalau tak jawab berdosa, kalau jawab gatal..

Tips/Advices:

i) Choose Practicality over Looks/Exterior.
* With the ever rising fuel prices nowadays, give more priority to fuel efficient cars. The lower the CCs, the better.
* If you’re gonna be stuck in traffic for 3 hours every day, perhaps you should choose Automatic Transmission (AT) than Manual Transmission (MT). But again, it’s entirely up to your preference. Anyways, Manual Transmission (MT) cars will save significantly on fuel.
* If you’re gonna have more than 2 passengers most of the time, choose 5-door cars than 3-door cars like Proton Satria. Don’t go for Proton Satria just because it looked more sporty than Proton Iswara.
* If you’re driving back to kampung every month, choose a higher CC for a smoother and more comfortable ride.
* If you wanna make out in a car, choose a spacious 5-door car. Space would provide you more opportunities to try many positions you can ever imagine of. Perodua Kenari anyone?

ii) Buy Your First Car and Stick To It.
A few years back I tagged along my cousin and his friend to purchase a brand new car somewhere in Wangsa Maju. It appears that my cousin’s friend had just a salary increase a few days back and would like to upgrade his Perodua Kancil to a bigger car. Something that suits his age and new salary range. After considering a few options, he decided to get a brand new Proton Waja, a quite significant change from his first car after graduation, Perodua Kancil.

As a result, he lost so much after the trade in. The value of his Perodua Kancil depreciate so quickly after a few years, that he ended up paying so much more.

When you’re financially stable and you can afford a second car, just go nuts. Buy your dream car. Peugeot. Toyota Harrier. Whatever. Keep your first car after graduation and make it your second. Don’t just change cars when you get a raise. You’ll lose so so much dawg.

iii) Avoid New and Second Hand Continental Cars.
As far as spare parts and maintenance are concerned, we should avoid Continental Cars (European cars) for the obvious reasons. Yeah of course Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Renault, Peugeot (especially Peugeot, nyum nyum) and others looked really good on the road, but trust me you wouldn’t like the price tag of those damn spare parts. Fresh graduates are tempted to buy second hand Continental cars, but I suggest to hold your thought first before you’re financially stable.

iv) Learn A Thing or Two about Cars.
It would help a lot if you personally know some mechanics (close relatives especially), when your car is in trouble, or in need of maintenance. If you don’t know much about engines, you’re putting yourself in a vulnerable position to be lied by sneaky mechanics. They’re just make up some stuff about how you need to change your oil filter or else your engine will over heat and one day it will explode…Uuuuuuuuu.

So date a mechanic. Just kidding.

But if you don’t, well. Things to check: Engine oil, spark plug, steering oil, brake oil/fluid, air filter, oil filter, automatic transmission fluid, battery, wiper, brake lamp, head light.

v) For better mileage, choose SHELL
Honestly, I don’t believe it at first. I had my skeptics alright. So why don’t you try it yourself? When you’re going back to kampung, fill up your tank full with Esso or Mobil or Projet or Caltex or BP or whatever. On the way back, fill up your tank with Shell. You’ll notice the difference. This is not a free advertisement for Shell.

If you ask me, my personal favorite for a national car is Perodua Myvi. In my opinion, this is the VALUE FOR MONEY. And it doesn’t looked too shabby after all. Looked nice really.

Affordable New Cars:
(I’ve divided into 4 price range; RM20,000 to RM30,000, RM30,000 to RM40,000, RM40,000 to RM50,000 and RM50,000 to RM60.000)

i) RM20,000 to RM30,000

ii) RM30,000 to RM40,000

PERODUA
KANCIL 850 EX (M) (METALLIC) RM30,278.66
KANCIL 850 EZ (A) RM35,586.46
KANCIL 850 EZ (A) (METALLIC) RM36,086.46
KELISA 1000 GX (M) RM36,374.40
KELISA 1000 GX (METALLIC) RM36,946.40
KELISA 1000 GXS (M) (METALLIC) RM39,208.40
KELISA 1000 EZ (A) RM39,891.40
KELISA 850 EX (M) RM32,303.80
KELISA 850 EX (M) (METALLIC) RM32,879.80
VIVA price start from RM28,400 to RM44,200

PROTON
ISWARA 1.3 A/B (M) NPS (METALLIC) RM35,800.79
ISWARA 1.3 A/B (M) PS (METALLIC) RM38,500.81
ISWARA 1.3 A/B (M) PS ENHANCED (METALLIC) RM39,889.81
ISWARA 1.5 (M) RM37,333.32
SAVVY 1.2L (AMT) price start form RM33,549.00
NEW SAGA BLM price start from RM34,548 to RM37,998

iii) RM40,000 to RM50,000

CHEVROLET
SPARK 0.8 SOHC RM47,993.20

HYUNDAI
INOKOM ATOS PRIMA 1.1GL (M) RM44,261.61
INOKOM ATOS PRIMA 1.1GL (M) (METALLIC) RM44,651.01
INOKOM ATOS PRIMA 1.1GL (A) RM47,526.85
INOKOM ATOS PRIMA 1.1GL (A) (METALLIC) RM47,916.25

KIA
PICANTO 1.1 (A) RM48,684.89

PERODUA
KELISA 1000 EZ (A) (METALLIC) RM40,643.40
KELISA 1000 EZS SE (A) (METALLIC) RM41,549.40
KENARI GX (M) RM40,752.40
KENARI GX (M) (METALLIC) RM41,350.40
KENARI EZ (A) (METALLIC) RM44,300.40
KENARI GX AERO (M) RM42,982.40
KENARI GX AERO (M) (METALLIC) RM43,580.40
KENARI EZ AERO (A) RM46,094.40
KENARI EZ AERO (A) (METALLIC) RM46,493.40
MYVI 1.0SR (M) (METALLIC) RM41,101.40
MYVI 1.3 SXI (STD) (M) RM44,820.20
MYVI 1.3 SXI (STD) (M) (METALLIC) RM45,365.20
MYVI 1.3 SXI (PREMIUM) (M) RM47,846.20
MYVI 1.3SXI (PREMIUM) (M) (METALLIC) RM48,391.20
MYVI 1.3 EZ (STD) (A) RM47,846.20
MYVI 1.3 EZ (STD) (A) (METALLIC) RM48,391.20

PROTON
PROTON PERSONA 1.6MT M-LINE METALLIC – RM49,800
PROTON PERSONA 1.6AT B-LINE METALLIC – RM48,449
PROTON PERSONA 1.6AT B-LINE SOLID – RM47,999
PROTON PERSONA 1.6MT B-LINE METALLIC – RM45,449
PROTON PERSONA 1.6MT B-LINE SOLID – RM44,999
SATRIA NEO 1.3 (M) RM43,476.80
SATRIA NEO 1.3 (A) RM46,476.80
SATRIA NEO 1.6 (M) RM48,463.00
SATRIA 1.3 (M) SE (METALLIC) RM42,888.22
SAVVY 1.2 (M) (STD) RM42,520.18
SAVVY 1.2 (M) (STD) (METALLIC) RM42,970.18
WIRA 1.5 (M) (METALLIC) RM46,794.00
WIRA 1.5 (A) ENHANCED (METALLIC) RM48,863.08
GEN. 2 1.3 (A) RM49,244.50
GEN. 2 1.3 (A) (METALLIC) RM49,888.00

RENAULT
KANGOO COMBI 1.4L RM49,250.91
KANGOO EXPRESS 1.4L RM46,993.56

iv) RM50,000 to RM60.000

CHERY
A160 1.6L (M) (BASIC) (CBU) RM56,493.10

KIA
PICANTO 1.1 (A) NOVUS RM53,788.89

MITSUBISHI
L200 4X2 2.5L DIESEL SINGLE CAB (M) RM58,463.80

NISSAN
C22 VANETTE WINDOW VAN 1.5L RM54,746.26

PERODUA
KEMBARA GX AERO (M) (METALLIC) RM55,295.50
KEMBARA EZ AERO (A) (METALLIC) RM58,003.20
KEMBARA CT ELEGANCE EZS (A) (METALLIC) RM59,863.20
MYVI 1.3 EZ (PREMIUM) (A) RM50,756.40
MYVI 1.3 EZ (PREMIUM) (A) (METALLIC) RM51,391.20

PROTON
PROTON PERSONA 1.6AT H-LINE METALLIC – RM55,800
PROTON PERSONA 1.6AT M-LINE METALLIC – RM52,800
SATRIA 1.5 (A) SE RM50,280.46
WIRA 1.5 (M) SE A/B (METALLIC) RM50,577.97
WIRA 1.5 (A) SE A/B (METALLIC) RM52,656.77
WIRA 1.5 (A) (METALLIC) RM51,337.43
GEN. 2 1.6 H-LINE (M) (METALLIC) RM59,391.50
GEN. 2 1.6 (M) VERSION A (METALLIC) RM55,036.50
GEN. 2 1.6 (A) VERSION A (METALLIC) RM58,114.50
WAJA 1.6 (M) STD (METALLIC) 59,455.60
SATRIA NEO 1.6 (A) 51,463.00
SATRIA NEO 1.6 (A) H-LINE RM54,763.00

Oh, and if you have some extra money:

HYUNDAI
GETZ 1.3 GL (A) RM65,985.40
GETZ 1.6 GL (A) RM77,562.40

CHEVROLET
AVEO 1.5 SOHC (A) RM74,495.50