Deathwish - Video Proves How Crazy-Dangerous 'Basikal Lajak' Are To All Of Us

Since the guilty verdict of Sam Ke Ting caused so much public uproar, Malaysians have taken to social media to post amateur video of these 'basikal lajak' riders on our streets.

The scariest part about the circumstances surrounding this case was the sinking feeling that it “could happen to anyone”, or more pointedly, happen to us.

The thought that we, as normal drivers, could be sent to jail for failing to react quickly and correctly (clairvoyantly?) enough to the illegal, reckless and foolish actions of others, just as long as the victims involved are minors, is a disturbing one.

However, public consensus on the matter still seems quite split with some armed with choice criticisms for the driver in spite of the fact that there was no confirmation of reckless driving, alcohol abuse, or illicit substances involved besides the fact that 8 teenagers are now deceased.

That’s a pretty wide logical leap. “Innocent until proven guilty”, or the presumption of innocence, does not really apply here as there is such a dearth of evidence overall.

To help cement the magnitude of danger these riders pose to law abiding and road-tax paying drivers like us, here are a compilation of some of those videos that have been making the rounds on social media:

The first is probably the scariest of the bunch. At a junction that’s only barely illuminated by the headlights of the vehicles there, a group of these juvenile riders steamroll past at a red light, forcing the Myvi to halt in the middle of lane, barely missing it. Luckily none of them collided with the car or we might have had another driver in jail.

Our second place contender isn’t nearly as distressing but shows how brazen these delinquents have gotten as they were spotted on the streets of Kuala Lumpur (Jalan Sultan Ismail, specifically) during the day instead of their usual haunts of dimly lit highways in the middle of the night.

In third spot, we have a compilation from TikTok. It starts with these kids coming down the overpass close to IKEA Cheras but follows with a collection of clips that sees them falling and getting curb-stomped by gravity and inertia. 

How does your reaction time, night vision, and clairvoyance fare against these Basikal Lajak riders that are, from a driver’s perspective, below your field of view, completely unilluminated, moving at high speed, and lack any brakes to slow down?

A momentary lapse in concentration or plain bad luck when encountering them could apparently land you in jail (after a 5-year legal battle). Drive safe.