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The Mat Rokers

Subcultures are often the creative expression of cultural difference by marginal groups. Shirlene Noordin explores the world of the Mat Roker.

They hang around in groups under the void deck of HDB blocks, sometimes strumming a seemingly tuneless song on an old guitar, sometimes doing nothing. Their hair is long and almost always unruly and their lanky, scrawny body perpetually encased in tight jeans and T-shirts. They smoke endless streams of Camels or Gudang Garams and listen to loud head-banging rock and heavy metal music.

If you happen upon them, you are likely to move away, afraid that you may end up being mugged. After all, males with long hair are thugs and having lived through the seventies, you are convinced that there must have been a good reason for the government's policy of serving them last. You meet their gaze and you give them a contemptuous look that says they are a societal nuisance, and they look back at you blankly as if to tell you that they don't care a hoot about what you think.

You have seen them around but you never thought about them beyond the long hair and loafer image. They are the Mat Rokers. With his seemingly anti-establishment image, the Mat Roker has routinely been typecast as deviant. This is an almost inevitable perception as their very lifestyle and appearance run counter to the picture of a typical, squeaky clean Singaporean possessed by the Confucian work ethic. But beyond the stereotyping, there lies a subculture that has given these Malay youths an identity. This identity, manifesting itself through style, dress and attitudes, sets the Mat Roker apart from the average Singaporean. And in the rigid, conformist Singapore society, anything that is different becomes an object of scrutiny and criticism.

 

Malays, Music and the Mat Rok

In the seventies, heavy metal and rock music made its unheralded debut and the hippie lifestyle ruled society. From Los Angeles to Singapore, males started to grow their hair long and music took a deviant turn from the wholesome sweet sounds of Cliff Richard and his cronies to the loud, head -banging guitar music of bands such as Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Rainbow.

In Singapore, the government tried to stem the tide of "western decadence" by campaigning against long hair. Men with long hair were cautioned that they would be served last in government offices. Music, like the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's album, which was deemed to promote the hippie lifestyle and anti -establishment attitudes, was banned. Despite these attempts, the cult of heavy metal music still managed to penetrate certain quarters of Singapore society.

It was during this time that Singapore society saw the evolution of the Mat Roker, a subculture that has already spanned almost two decades. It was a subculture that brought together displaced male Malay youths. These working-class youths usually came from large families where parental control was lax. They faced typical working-class problems such as poor job prospects, low or almost no educational qualifications, and hence low ambition and drive.

Being an ethnic minority only served to worsen the situation. It is a commonly held view that the Malays are a "backward" group and that this is due to the nature of Malay culture. They have been labelled lazy, unenterprising and pleasure-seeking, qualities that are antithetical to the values of hardwork, thrift and the accumulation of wealth upheld by the dominant Chinese culture. This is a view held not only by the Chinese elite but by the poorer Chinese as well. This stereotyping inevitably leads to discrimination.

The apparent backwardness of the Malays is too easily explained away by the passive nature of Malay culture. However, Malay culture, to some extent, has a role in shaping the Malay attitude towards the accumulation of wealth.

The staunch Malay belief in fate, that God has a predetermined plan for them, sometimes leads to the unquestioning acceptance of the order of things. Everything that happens, whether good or bad, is attributed to God's will. Malay feudal traditions, where people are mentioned only in terms of their relationship with the ruling class, keep the people subordinated. Ingrained with such values, the Malays have very little desire for self-determination.

As respect and status in the Malay community is earned not through material possession, the accumulation of wealth is given low priority in Malay culture. Respect and status is instead earned through amicability, neighbourliness and willingness to lend a hand in times of trouble.

Furthermore, a high priority is placed on personal happiness which does not necessarily come from wealth. Ideally decisions are not made by calculating the material benefits but are based on the achievement of peace of mind and happiness.

But to attribute Malay "backwardness" to traditional Malay culture alone is grossly inaccurate. Historically, the Malays were involved in agricultural work, thus basing themselves in rural areas which were alienated from the centres of economic progress. Subsequently they did not receive an English education during the colonial period and were not exposed to modernity and its technology. Hence there was great disparity between the Malays and the Chinese, the latter largely concentrated in the town areas and involved in economic activity.

The disadvantages which accrued to the Malays then were passed down to the younger generation Malays, who in turn start out in life a few steps behind their Chinese counterparts. This is most obvious in terms of education Malay pupils coming from an educationally poor background, start off in school at a great disadvantage, resulting in poor performance and consequently poorer chances of securing good jobs. This becomes a vicious cycle.

Burdened with problems as members of the working-class, as an ethnic minority and as youths, the Mat Rokers found it difficult to secure jobs. To compound the problem, several Malay youths in the seventies were unofficially exempted from compulsory National Service (NS), which made finding a job even more difficult since employers were unwilling to employ those who had not completed NS.

Stuck in a social limbo, heavy metal and rock music became the centrifugal force that brought these displaced Malay youths together. Their very name, Mat Roker, implies this close affiliation with rock music. Heavy metal and rock music and the associated styles became emblems of this subculture.

This type of music was a shocking departure from conventional music. It was heavily criticised as loud, noisy, unmusical and satanic, and the Mat Roker's affiliation with it seemed set to bring about heavy stereotyping and even discrimination. It was difficult for people to accept such music for its value as a musical form because its very form implied chaos and disorder that threatens the well-ordered society.

Why was there an elective affinity between Mat Rokers and heavy metal and rock music? Perhaps the lack of "discipline" in the musical form was an appealing factor. This lack of "discipline" is mostly produced by the guitar. In this type of music, there is an "emphasis on technological effect and instrumental virtuosity. The stylistic traits that are dominant within heavy metal are: the cult of the lead guitarist and the importance in performance of extended solo-playing and a disregard for the temporal limits of the pop song" (Straw 1983). A rock/heavy metal guitarist can stretch a note to its limit. In addition to this, the unintelligible lyrics and periodic screaming in between verses all contribute to making "noise" and chaos.

For the displaced Malay youth, this kind of music provided a ready-made identity that seemed to shout "I am different! I am not one of you!". Unable to fit into the rigid, almost claustrophobic Singapore lifestyle, the Mat Rokers, living on the periphery of society, found a respite in an undisciplined musical form.

The heavy metal dress style, just like the music it was born of, screamed non-conformity. It was a style of dressing which was designed to tell the world, "bad to the bone and proud of it". Metal iconography blatantly displayed this badness: long hair for both performers and audiences, denim jackets and jeans, satanic imagery and motifs from heroic fantasy illustration.

In Singapore, the style caught on with the Mat Rokers. And items that had already been invested with social meaning were turned to invoke distinctively Mat Roker characteristics. For example, jeans, standard wear among them, have been invested socially with the idea of casualness and youthfulness. The Mat Rokers, however, added a new dimension to jeanswear. In the seventies, regular blue jeans were turned into flamboyant pieces of art by cutting them off at the knee and sewing on different pieces of material like corduroy. The jeans were almost always slightly flared at the bottom, reflecting the bell-bottoms trend of the era. The Mat Roker of the eighties wore almost skin tight jeans that came in all shades and were adorned with embroidered patches of heavy metal symbols. Hair was always kept long, sometimes past the waist. This was a direct affront to the government's policy on long hair.

These Malay youths found security in numbers and began spending most of their time just "hanging out", dressed in Mat Rok gear. The void decks of their HDB flats became a popular and convenient meeting point for the Malay boys from the neighbourhood. With not much spending money, the void decks provided a venue for activities ranging from idle chit-chat to guitar lessons. It was in such an environment that some of the more prominent Singapore Malay musicians picked up their first guitar chords. Talk centred around music, fashion and friends. Gossip about Mat Rok gangs was exchanged and news disseminated.

If money was available, they were off to a local nightspot where "live" metal and rock music was performed. Rainbow, located at the Ming Arcade, was the hotspot. Famous for its "Battle of the Bands", a competition for aspiring rock musicians , it drew a large Mat Rok clientele. For every void deck Mat Rok, winning the coveted first prize was a dream come true. When Rainbow closed down in the mid-eighties, Dreams Disco in Amara Hotel took over as the Mat Rok joint. Unfortunately, it became notorious for the fights that frequently broke out and was closed down. Today, Mat Rokers can be seen congregating at Hot Line Pub in Cuscaden Road.

Although they hung around in groups, the Mat Rokers should not be mistaken for gangs like the Chinese Secret Societies. Gangs did exist but were few in number. One of the most prominent gangs was the Hell's Angels and stories about them are almost legends. In general, however, the regular Mat Rokers formed a loose social group without any form of hierarchy. There was no official leader from whom the others took orders. Each was respected for his skill or knowledge. For example, there was always a senior member who would be the group's musical expert and became the musical mentor to the young entrants into the group. Sometimes, one among them would claim he knew some members of the respected Mat Rok gangs and was able to give the other boys the inside scoop on these gangs. It was deemed "cool" to know somebody on the inside. He would thus gain respect by virtue of his contact with this gang member. At other times, respect was earned by being known as a ladies' man.

Over the years, a Mat Rok lingo developed. It was a kind of patois which was generally Malay based but with borrowed words from mostly Hokkien and English. New words were sometimes coined from mispronounced words which after a time became part of their argot. Many English words have been given a Malay twist, like the word relax, pronounced "relak" by the Mat Rokers. This has become a favourite word among them and its English origins has almost been forgotten. It is used in combination with other words, like, "relaklah bradder" (relax, brother) or "relak one koner"(relax in a corner). When a Mat Roker tells you, "gereklah lu", don't be alarmed because he is merely paying you a compliment. Loosely translated, it means, "you've got style" or "you're cool". A typical Mat Rok greeting would be "Amacam?", an amalgamation of two Malay words "apa" and "macam", meaning "how are you?".

The whole Mat Roker image and lifestyle, articulated through metal music and its material culture, demonstrated their difference from mainstream Singaporeans and also from the parent Malay culture. The latter is the greater Malay culture that encompasses both adults and youths. It comprises mainstream Malay values and attitudes, derived from Malay tradition and Islam and to a large extent, the working-class culture. The material culture of the Mat Roker shows a significant disjuncture from the parent Malay culture. Heavy metal and rock is undeniably a western construct, frowned upon by many Malay elders. Its satanic imagery and seemingly decadent lifestyle of sex, booze and drugs is un-Islamic. But the very fact that metal music is taboo in mainstream Singapore society and to the parent Malay culture as well, makes it the perfect vehicle for these youths to express their repressed angst and frustrations with life on the margins.

The Mat Rokers' affiliation with metal music clearly denotes their separateness from the parent culture. In this way, it is clear to see that the subculture is a youthful response to problems faced by working-class Malays. It is a generationally specific articulation of an alternative value system. The long hair, the music, the gear and the "hanging out with the boys" are ultimately inadequate attempts by these young people to cope with their marginality in society because, in reality, their problems have not disappeared. With an alternative value system, which only they understand, they are able to define success and failure in their own terms.

However, subcultures and their parent cultures are not always in tension with one another. As they are a subset of the parent culture, they will share some things in common with the latter. Despite their western outer trappings, the Mat Rokers retain some very dominant traits of the parent Malay culture. One of these pertains to the question of gender. A most striking observation about the subculture is the near absence of females. Malay women very often play an important role in the administration of the household. Socially, however, they take a backseat to men, allowing their husbands to lead instead. This is also true within the subculture. Women in the groups are rarely considered real members, being present only in their capacity as girlfriends or fiancees. They remain on the peripheries of the group and never initiate activities.

 

The Dominant Culture and The Mat Rokers

Societies comprise different peoples and cultures. These cultures may exist within the same society but are however differently ranked and can stand in opposition to one another in relations of domination and subordination. However, one particular culture will prevail as the dominant culture. This is the culture of the group which holds the monopoly of power in society. Theirs is the culture that commands the greatest weight and influence and has most legitimacy.

In Singapore, the dominant culture is defined in terms of Chinese/capitalist values. It encompasses the East Asian values defined by Dr Goh Keng Swee in 1976 as thrift, honesty, self-discipline, regard for education, respect for enterprise and concern over family stability (The Straits Times, June 24, 1976). These values are believed to encourage national competitiveness, economic success and social integration. Anything that is deemed a deviation from this is frowned upon and censured as being anti-establishment . In 1976, Dr Goh Keng Swee identified "hippism, permissiveness, student radicalism, ideologies of the welfare state and anti -establishment and anti-multinational company attitudes" ( The Straits Times, June 24, 1976) as decadent and having undesirable influence.

This points at the importance Singapore society places on the concept of boundaries. The country's vigorous anti-littering laws and its extensive licensing policies were all aimed at a well-regulated and orderly society.

The non-Chinese working-class cultures are subordinated to the dominant Chinese/capitalist culture. These subordinate cultures are, however, not totally absorbed by the dominant culture. For example, the working-class Malay culture is subordinated to the dominant Chinese/capitalist culture but expresses distinctiveness from the latter through the creation of its own system of values. This system of values tends to have a less rigid system of social classification than the other groups. Malays are thus less influenced by pressures to become assimilated into the urban, industrialised, time- conscious and competitive world of many Singaporeans. They are thus more marginal to the mainstream ideology than any other group (John Clammer 1985).

The Mat Rok subculture is then subordinated to both the dominant Chinese/capitalist culture and the parent Malay culture. The Mat Roker's image of being a wild-haired, ill-disciplined individual has transgressed the careful boundaries the dominant culture has defined for society. The subculture is then an expression by these displaced male Malay youths of their marginal status in Singapore society, first as members of a minority group and then as working-class youths.

 

A Subculture Dying

Sadly, hardcore Mat Rokers are a rare breed these days. The 1990s saw heavy metal and rock music, the cornerstone of the Mat Rok subculture, enter the world of popular music, thus ceasing to be an enclave for the marginalised few.

Glamour rock bands such as Bon Jovi, Mister Big and even Guns N' Roses have made rock and heavy metal music commercial and Top 40 successes. Even hard core metal bands like Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax have gained widespread acceptance among music listeners. Rock and metal music, the foundation of Mat Rok-ism, must now be shared with others who do not share the same mentality or values as the Mat Rokers. This type of music is slowly losing its significance as the badge of non -conformity.

Today, grunge music has taken over as THE alternative sound. An offshoot of rock music, it draws a following in Singapore from youths from all ethnic groups and class backgrounds. Grunge is enjoyed purely for its musical value and has not become a source of identification for displaced working-class youths. The followers of this genre of music appear to copy the fashion and style of grunge merely for fashion's sake.

The situation in the socio-economic arena has also changed. The Malays of the '90s can boast a burgeoning middle class with more and more of their youths entering the university and securing professional vocations. The problem of school dropouts, drug addicts and other youth-related problems still exist but are given special attention by Malay/Muslim bodies such as Mendaki, AMP (Association of Malay Professionals) and Pertapis. With such an integrative social network, the problems faced by working-class Malays can be resolved via conventional means. Without such assistance in the seventies to early eighties, working-class Malay youths had to turn to alternative solutions. The absence of role models also compounded the problem.

Today's Mat Rokers do not form such a cohesive entity as they did in the early days. Those from the heyday have settled down with families of their own. Some still maintain the trademark long hair and are avid fans of metal music. But the subculture no longer has the distinct identity it found in the strength of its numbers in the seventies and early eighties. This development to family life further strengthens the theory that the subculture was a generational working-class response to the problems of the day.

The Malay youths of the nineties do not experience the same marginality Malays experienced some years back. With greater spending power these Malay youths are no different from their counterparts of other ethnic groups. And with rock and heavy metal going commercial, there is no real binding force to form a separate and distinctive subculture.

 

 

 

Shirlene Noordin graduated with Honours from the Department of Sociology, the National University of Singapore. She is interested in issues of ethnicity.

 

Taken from: http://www.happening.com.sg/commentary/matrokers.html