MUHAMMAD Faiz Abdul Hadi is only 16, but he does not have a curfew. In fact, on most days, he waltzes in and out of his house as he pleases. During school holidays, he returns home at the break of dawn, when the rest of his family is just stirring from sleep. He then sleeps for several hours.

The day begins again for him in the evening with a game of football behind his family's flat in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

"We'd play for a couple of hours then head over to the stalls for a drink. At Maghrib, we'd go home and by 9pm, we'd meet up again downstairs," he says.

On school days, Faiz might be home by around midnight and spends his mornings at school. But the pattern of sleeping, playing games and hanging out with his friends pretty much makes up Faiz's daily routine.

Faiz and his friends, Irsyaduddin Ishak (or Shah), 17, and Rozainin Fitra (Black), 19, are caught in what many people call the lepak culture. This phenomenon is not new, says social psychologist Dr Chiam Heng Keng.

"Previously, especially among the urban poor, teenagers hung around flats, smoked and rode on borrowed motorbikes. Following that; was the bohsia problem. Now, we have these teenagers who are basically another version of the Mat Rempit," she explains.

These youths, especially those who hang around in big groups, often have a reputation for causing trouble.

In November last year, The Star published an article reporting that shop owners at Changkat Thambi Abdullah in KL were complaining about a group of boisterous teenagers hanging out at the open-air car park in the area.

The shop owners claim that these teenagers were engaging in numerous vice activities including glue sniffing and fighting.

While this example is one set in an urban locale, the problem is nationwide.

"It's the same in urban and rural areas. The kids just do different things," psychologist Karen Kow says. She adds, however, that the perception that the city is not safe makes people fear big groups.

Dr Chiam agrees. "In urban areas, we expect (children) to be home. So when they are outside, they become very obvious," she says.

Faiz and his friends are just a few of the many teenagers who hang around the Changkat Thambi Abdullah area on Saturday evenings. They usually spend their weekends at the shopping centres along Jalan Bukit Bintang where they would play arcade games or sing in karaoke booths.

Their last stop is the car park at Changkat Thambi Abdullah as it is next to their bus stop.

During a recent visit, the teenagers appeared harmless. They could be seen streaming out from the back of the nearby Berjaya Times Square shopping complex, and sitting around an open-air car park.

These youths came across as well-mannered, or as well-mannered as teenagers could be. They took turns to salam each other in greeting. And like most boys in packs, they whistled at girls walking past while cracking a joke or two.

There were no signs of anyone sniffing glue, or instigating fights, but Faiz and his friends have seen some of the youths there do it.

"Yes, there are a few kids there who do sniff glue ... dalam belas-belas (more than 10)," Black shares. "If I see them, I often tell them not to do it, and to think about what they get out of it."

While Black may not have been able to stop the kids, the two psychologists feel that it is important for young people to be told to toe the line.

Many teenagers get caught up in the lepak culture because they do not get enough supervision from their parents, who may be too busy with work to pay much attention to their children.

Some parents simply lack parenting skills. There are also those with large families who are unable to keep track of their children.

"Under the (United Nations) Convention of the Rights of a Child, which we (Malaysia) have ratified, a 16-year-old person is still considered a child and is considered under the care of parents. So, if it is after midnight, he should not be hanging around outside," says Dr Chiam.

Youths like Faiz and his friends are up and about until the wee hours of the morning not only on weekends, but almost daily.

While it is easy to criticise such behaviour, there are also other factors to consider. One major issue is the size of families and space at home. At Faiz's home, seven people live in a two-bedroom flat. In Shah's case, there are 11 people living there.

"It is natural for them to want to get out of the house because it is overcrowded," explains Kow.

Many might argue that nevertheless, it is the responsibility of the parents not only to uphold discipline, but to protect their children to ensure that they are safe. The easiest way is of course to keep their children at home but that is not always possible.

Unfortunately, staying out makes these teenagers more susceptible to negative influences.

For some parents, such as Faiz's, they are confident that the "system" they currently use is sufficient. Faiz's father explains that they belong to a close-knit family and community, and they always know where their children are and what they are up to.

Faiz, who is in Form 5, says: "I don't smoke because my angah (second oldest brother) is strict. If he sees me smoking, or finds out, I know that he'll hit me."

Apart from relying on this informal surveillance method to ensure that their children stay out of trouble, Faiz's parents are rather nonchalant about his carefree routine.

Faiz (left) and a friend watches as his older brother, whom he refers to as angah, plays a video game.

All three friends admit that they have skipped school, gone to school late and even slept in class. Their parents and teachers have long given up on reprimanding them or disciplining them about their lackadaisical attitude towards their schooling.

"When I was in school, all we needed to do was show up and the teacher would take our attendance," says Black, who did badly in his SPM.

Faiz notes that he wanted to be an engineer, but that dream was crushed when he was put in the Arts stream in Form Four.

"Tak nak fikir dulu, tengok lah (Don't want to think about it yet, we'll see how things go)," he says. As for how he feels about his crushed dream, he says: "Sure I regret not doing better in school but what can I do?"

Dr Chiam comments: "Just look at the expectations for academic excellence today. It makes them feel worse off and they are always viewed negatively. We do not look at what can be done for them. If they are doing badly in school, they find their future is bleak. They will feel that life is not worth living anymore, get frustrated and so they seek to add colours to their lives."

Some youngsters cope with their frustrations by turning to cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. Others look for comfort in people going through the same situation as them, hence the gatherings of disaffected youths in large numbers.

But while most of these youths are not posing a danger to the people around them, the question of what harm they are doing to themselves begs to be asked.

"Even if they are not a menace, it would be great if they were doing something productive," Kow says. She adds that youths, as human beings, need to do something and have goals and ambitions.

Dr Chiam does not think that the blame lies solely on the youths. She says that the community - from parents, schools and society at large - has to take responsibility, and not be too harsh in judging these teenagers.

"There is no point just condemning these teenagers. We need to find a solution. We need to meaningfully engage the teenagers," she says.

Although they seem content to drift from day to day, Faiz and his friends actually have plans for their future. Black wants to become a professional footballer while Shah wants to be a businessman.

For now, however, there is little guidance or motivation for them to pursue these dreams.