AT about 7.50pm I was on a bus near Petaling Street (Kuala Lumpur) when I witnessed a disturbing act of random violence.
The bus had stopped by a bus stop where there were about 30-35 people waiting, including two young men.
Suddenly, a group of youths who looked to be aged between 16 and 22 attacked them for no reason. Six or seven of the them began beating up one of the two.
Another six or seven youths grabbed the other, who didn't struggle, as it seemed hopeless. They reached into his trouser pockets, but instead of robbing him they ripped his trousers down the side.
After that, the youths just walked off laughing.
The bystanders did not move to protect the two victims, but they couldn't be blamed. Anything less than a large group of concerned citizens would be foolish to confront the dozen plus hoodlums.
I admit that I did not dare get down from the bus to help either. Counting the passers-by in cars, buses and at the bus stop, around 100 people must have witnessed this brutal event.
It is not just the Mat Rempit prowling the streets at night, that are a menace to ordinary citizens, but also gangs of youth like the one I described.
What can be done about such thugs who attack people at such central areas as that bus stop?
Just 30 seconds past the bus stop, a Proton Perdana was parked at the sidewalk beside a few other, cheaper cars. The alarm was sounding and there were three symbols spray-painted on the windscreen. One was a Nazi swastika; I forgot what the other two were.
