No F1 return to Malaysia, as gov’t can use the money to support development of other sports – Hannah Yeoh

No F1 return to Malaysia, as gov’t can use the money to support development of other sports – Hannah Yeoh

The talk of a possible return of Formula 1 to Malaysia has been quashed with youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh stating that the country had no plans to bring the race back to the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) anytime in the foreseeable future, The Star reports.

She said this was due to the high costs associated with it, and that the government would be better off spending the money elsewhere. “Organising F1 races requires the government to pay about RM300 million annually to Liberty Media, which holds the F1 commercial rights,” she said

“Malaysia must also bind itself to a contract of between three to five years with the said company, amounting to a commitment of about RM1.5 billion during this period,” she told the Dewan Rakyat earlier today. She added that the added cost of ensuring the track is ready would also have to be taken into consideration.

She said this in response to a question from Oscar Ling Chai Yew (PH-Sibu), who asked if Malaysia was in a position to host F1 races again, and how the SIC’s utilisation was being maximised to benefit the nation.

No F1 return to Malaysia, as gov’t can use the money to support development of other sports – Hannah Yeoh

Yeoh stated that the SIC is not a white elephant, noting how various programmes are still being held there, including the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia. She said the MotoGP race attracted about 185,000 spectators last year and generated around RM329 million, while creating 4,493 job opportunities.

While acknowledging the prestige of F1 races and saying it is “good to have,” she said that large funds were needed for it, something that could be better used to support other sports. She said the RM300 million could instead be used to support other programmes under the ministry’s purview.

This includes development programmes involving 363 podium athletes and 9,834 talent development athletes. “This would cost as much as RM124.1 million annually, with the RM300 million being able to support the programme several times over,” she explained.

However, she said the country was not closing the door to F1 races being held in Malaysia again, if there are corporate entities interested to fork out the organising fee. “Those interested can connect with the SIC. We are open to this and can cooperate,” she said.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • Ben Yap on Aug 21, 2025 at 4:40 pm

    Najib can fork out close to a decade of fees or Tun M who started this should fork out the money.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
    • haters gonna hate on Aug 21, 2025 at 9:55 pm

      better ask TNB to pay their 5 billion tax bill which can then fund F1 for a decade. or we can also auction off ilham tower

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 2
    • Make Malaysia Great Again on Aug 22, 2025 at 5:00 pm

      It was PM Najib that decided enough was enough this money blackhole and decided to stop F1 race. This also caused TunM to merajuk and he went on warpath to destroy the Govt he has led for 22 years thus ending the glorious period of Malaysia.

      Only PM Najib can make Malaysia great again.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 4
      • plainbs don't cry on Aug 23, 2025 at 10:40 am

        if najib was still in power, malaysia would be bankrupt as a result from 2MDB and jho low would be richer than elon musk

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Rempit King on Aug 21, 2025 at 7:12 pm

    can use the money to support mat rempits’ street racings ?
    probably can become UNESCO World Heritage Site

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 2
  • copy paste from DK on Aug 22, 2025 at 9:52 am

    copy paste from DK. F1 and other such international events raise the awareness of the existence of our country to foreigners and westerners. People know Singapore and Thailand off-hand but as odd as it may seem, a lot of North Americans, South Americans, and Europeans don’t know where Malaysia is. You have to explain to them that we’re the country sandwiched in between Thailand and Singapore.

    Without instant recognition we don’t get tourists. Without instant recognition we don’t get foreigners exploring to set up businesses here.

    Those that only know how to harp about how money is better spent on the B40 don’t seem to understand why the B40 are in their predicament in the first place. How much handout is enough handout? Small-minded people like those should try convincing the B40 to try and toil like our foreign workers to extricate themselves from poverty and see for themselves, instead of always proposing to pour more money and give more free stuff to that demographic.

    Having been a co-owner of a rural agro SME, let me just summarize it this way. Despite surrounded by thousands of able-bodied youths and paying decent wages, we still had to hire mainly foreign workers because we couldn’t find or retain local workers.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 8
    • Gomorrah on Aug 26, 2025 at 5:36 pm

      Curious…what is your definition of a decent wage in this day and age with current cost of living? And what numerical value would you place on that?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Lil petrolhead on Aug 23, 2025 at 9:22 pm

    We have automotive industry.. not hosting because of 300m annual fee is ridiculous to have an good existing infrastructure..MotoGP can attract so much crowd. The current F1 owner is a much better mass broadcasting channel, more and more new F1 fans compare to last decade before Liberty ownership.. cannot la, no research and short sighted..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • F1 is just some people circus festival.. if no fee it good

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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