That is the question that I am asking. That’s the question Karamjit himself is asking. And I bet almost every single automotive enthusiast who I know will be asking.
Together with his co-driver Allen Oh, Karamjit had won the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) last year, as well as in 2001 and 2002. Because of him, Proton had also snagged the Manufacturer’s title in 2002 and 2004. Karamjit also took the Group N (Production car) titles in 1997, 2000 and 2001. (Source)
Isn’t this a proven track record for success? How come he is unable to get sponsorship from anyone?
Do you need more proof?
Career Highlights:
2004 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
2002 FIA Production Car World Rally Champion
2002 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
2001 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
2001 Group N FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
2000 Group N FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
1998 Thailand National Rally Champion
1997 Group N FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
1990 – 1997 Malaysian Rally Champion
He won the WRC’s Production car championship on his FIRST TRY! He is also the first Asian to win the title.
Karamjit and his Proton PERT
This year, Karamjit Singh drives with co-driver Jagdev Singh in a Proton PERT which is basically a Proton re-label of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 7. Karamjit shipped his Proton PERT to New Caledonia in last month in hopes of competing in the rally but was forced to pull out last minute because he could not secure enough sponsors for the event. Even the FIA was understanding in this matter, because they knew Karamjit’s team was facing financial difficulties, they had subsidised the participation fees for the rally. After all, last year’s defending champion had to defend his title right? That was what FIA was thinking. But Karamjit was still short of cash for mechanics and tyres.
Karamjit will not be participating in the current round, Round 3, which is in Rotorua, New Zealand on the 17th and 19th. Round 4 would be in Hokkaido Japan. But guess where is Round 5’s venue? No where else but MALAYSIA! (19-21 August 2005) It would be a shame to see that our own Flying Sikh (Karamjit’s nickname) cannot even compete in his home grounds because he could not secure sponsorship!
This is what happens when you try to remain patriotic. Karamjit had put his faith in being able to get local corporate sponsorship for the 2005 APRC season. Why doesn’t the government step up and help him? They certainly have for other individuals competing in motorsports, who once obtained sponsorship completely disappointed us and vanished from the news. But this is a champion here. Karamjit has put Malaysia on the rallying map. Why not Proton help him? After all, he has Proton’s logos all over his Proton PERT. Proton is definitely cash-rich enough.
There are another 2 Malaysians participating in the APRC with driver Chee Hong Kan and co-driver Bernard Chin U-Min. They are driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR but they belong to Wan Yu Rally Team which comes from China, thus they are not a Malaysian team. Karamjit had actually been contemplating to race for an overseas-based factory team this season but he did not, for reasons which I will assume to be patriotism. Bad decision.
It’s not just about defending the APRC title. Even his career is in jeopardy now. FIA APRC’s rules state that he has to finish 6 out of the 8 races, otherwise he could be fined up to USD3000 per race. Last year he got first place for 4 out of the 6 rounds. This time, he can’t even participate in the 6 rounds. He has only been able to get enough money to run 3 rounds this year so far. In addition to the fear of the USD9000 fine (3 remaining races), the FIA could suspend his license. “They can suspend my licence. If I am under suspension, how am I going to earn a living?” said Karamjit.
Karamjit is also participating in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and he managed to get his best finish so far in the last race in New Zealand where he and his co-driver John Bennie finished fifth. Even in the WRC, a world-class event, he has not been able to secure enough sponsorships to enable him to finish his campaign.
Perhaps it’s just that rally isn’t hot in Malaysia as other motorsports such as Formula One. What a pity. I am really really really sad about Karamjit’s predicament.
Now, Karamjit has already had offers from two foreign manufacturer teams for him to drive for them. He is seriously considering the options now since his own country seems uninterested in the fact that he has made Malaysia proud in the international rally circles. Initial discussions with them have already begun.
“My first choice will be to continue driving for a Malaysian-backed team. That was the reason for staying with the Petronas Eon Racing Team (PERT) for the last 17 years. But the team will cease operations at the end of the year. Getting sponsors have been the big problem. If there is sponsorship overseas, why should I discard the opportunity?” said Karamjit in an article in The Star.
Malaysia, this is the only really good world champion we have. Please don’t force him to look overseas and make some other country/car manufacturer proud instead of our country. Don’t kill him off.
Vijay Singh suffered a similiar predicament in his golfing career. Now he’s one of the top people in golf, who even dethroned Tiger Woods as the world’s top golfer. Vijay applied for PR here in Malaysia but got rejected. Our Deputy Prime Minister even had the cheek to say “Its fortunate that Vijay Singh was not granted the PR status, otherwise he would not have become the worlds number one golfer. Thats the truth.” WTF?!
Karamjit, I wish you the best of luck in your career.
Peter Jackson, Jimmy Lai, VJ Singh. The common thread linking all three men is that they came from a place with limited opportunity, and they all made their name and fortune by going which offers a better chance for them to realise their full potential, be it film making, publishing or golf. If Jackson has stayed in New Zealand, Lai in Guangdong and Singh in Fiji or Malaysia, they would never have gotten to where they are today. – Singapore Polytechnic E-Zone
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Malaysia does not know a good thing when they see one. Vijay Singh comes to mind. Now we have our very own world champion and he has to stuggle to get sponsors. I wonder what Najib will say now.
same old crap day in & day out! what could be closer to the truth! if only Karamjit was of a certain race, things would come easier..he may even be a datuk by now…dont you think? Jokers can get sponsored and bestowed titles for lame ass stuff like swimming, nearly reaching the peak of everest, etc…why cant a true MALAYSIAN CHAMPION?!!!
I hear ya man =/
Sad country, its a fact that the 2 other guys got their datukship for merely doing a feat only once!! Karamjit is doing Malaysia proud and yet he is being sidelined!!
Like paradoxx mentioned.. he's not a true 'malaysian' for them. It's just useless he's being patrioritic.. in my opinion.. where they don't appreciate it.. it's damn obvious. Hope better luck for him.
Sigh* …. i guessed a bin would help alot ! :)
Wait a minute…isn't he a Malaysian?
Then….???
It's this kinda attitude that makes me think twice supporting 'Malaysian' companies. This reflects badly on the CEO's, Chairman etc. of those companies.
I wonder if it is possible to form some sort of organization supporting deserving ppl for sports in Malaysia.? Hopefully a transparent one.
I wonder how many auto enthusiasts would put in the money to sponsor him. This would really show the support of the Malaysian ppl.
How come when there's a disaster like Tsunami….everybody willing to chip in.. This in itself is a major disaster….I would think more severe than Tsunami…. Don't u think so. ?
Easy way out :- Convert to muslim and funding comes in.
Easy way out number two : seek help from the most efficient government servant –> Pak Lah
"Malaysia does not know a good thing when they see one"
sadly, too true indeed.
"same old crap day in & day out! what could be closer to the truth! if only Karamjit was of a certain race, things would come easier..he may even be a datuk by now…dont you think?"
such simplistic thinking does not help, sir. right now, plenty of deserving ppl from that race (a certain national service dodger comes to mind), as well as from other races (the latest bunch of spm over-achievers) did not manage to get assistance. only when the media highlighted their plight were the monies (and other forms of help) disbursed to them.
"Jokers can get sponsored and bestowed titles for lame ass stuff like swimming, nearly reaching the peak of everest, etc…"
i hate saying this, but some ppl hype themselves to extremes, do all the spin and get saturated coverage from the media. but there is something that can be deduced from the observations. in this country (and probably many others) only if one makes a lot of noise will the money come in. in some circles, this is called MARKETING.
remember alex yoong? he was hyped and touted as asia's (ex-japan) first (would-be) f1 champion. he earned sponsorship from a toileteries (hair cream is toiletery) maker as well as a numbers-based gaming company. what has become of him now?
sponsorship is an issue for sports everywhere. sports with relatively small following (sadly, this includes rally racing in malaysia) suffer.
compare bowling, badminton and f1 with rally racing. i bet most malaysians won't be able to name what sport do karamjit and allen belong to. admittedly, the state of malaysian football leaves a lot to be desired. nonetheless, despite declining match attendances, the local league's following is still bigger than that of rally racing.
what needs to be done is therefore, market rally racing more aggressively. i remember malaysian rallies used to be broadcasted on sunday afternoons on tv, but the sport has sadly in recent years (even internationally) been second fiddle to f1.
i sure hope more sponsors would step in after The Star higlighted the team's plight yesterday…
nice,neutral and brilliant words from u napps..following ur comments..i'm wondering who u are
napps has a point there…its all about hype and marketing…if you wanna get noticed or heard!
But in Karamjit's case, the man has a proven track record..Hes been racing for proton, all these years with the best of his ability, putting Malaysia (and proton)on the map…he isn't asking for much,why cant proton itself help the man out? Why cant the Malaysian Govt help the man out??
I dont believe its a waste cause there isnt much following of "rally" in this country..its more about keeping someone who does an awesome job for Malaysia at the forefront!! I really believe the sports ministry should help our Flying Sikh..
The Govt "have for other individuals competing in motorsports, who once obtained sponsorship completely disappointed us and vanished from the news" I sincerely know this wouldnt be the case with Karamjit…
No matter what i sincerely hope for all the best for Mr. Karamjit!
i sincerely do hope karamjit's situation will be remedied.
imho, proton and petronas should continue to sponsor the team. petronas is a shareholder of proton. the wrc is another avenue for petronas to promote its performance petroleum products globally. proton should exploit its involvement in rally racing to promote its exciting line of r3 performance cars. on a related matter, i read somewhere proton is pulling out of the kenny roberts racing team motor gp (can somebody verify this?)….just when they bought bike maker mv agusta.
another thing, i wonder under which sporting body does rally racing fall under? is there an association of some sort? if there is, the body MUST make a lot of noise to get more sponsorship. rally racing should not be a poor cousin of f1 in this country.
imho, rally racing is more exciting and challenging than f1. or maybe it's just that f1 is getting saturation coverage because of the RM blns plowed into the sepang track, whereby a son of a top political honcho is now head of the firm managing the track?….hehehehehe 'WINK!'
Shame on our country, this is not a normal case after all, our government has got a hobby of raising up talents & Genius and give it away for FREE to other Country. What can we say? :(
hmm… biar wak cakap B.M'sia je lah ye, kita kan org M'sia, jd wak yakin semua org M'sia faham bahasa M'sia.
Wak rasa yg sebenarnya ramai peminat Rally kt M'sia ni, tp tak berpeluang utk berantisipasi tu je, Wak dulu masa kt Oversea study tak pernah miss skit pun perkembangan WRC, duduk 8 thn negara org, ikuti perkembangan rally dunia selalu teringat kat pemandu hebat kita The Flying Sikh, alangkah bestnye klau dpt tengok kt tv lepas kereta Evo ke Subaru ke Citroen melintas di track yg begitu mencabar melintas kereta bertulisan Proton (PERT) dan perkataan MALAYSIA tertera di depan kereta tu, just like what we saw in F1 arena for our Souber Petronas Team. Pada Wak, klau Petronas boleh invest jutaan ringgit pd team Souber yg setakat ni still merangkak dlm kedudukan 13-16, kenapa tak invest pd our very own Karamjit yg mempunyai rekod yg begitu mengkagumkan???!!! Wak Rasa, Proton & Petronas patut sgt support Karamjit, dia dah begitu banyak sgt berbakti dgn semangat patriotiknya!!! sepatutnye dia dapat Dato' lebih awal dr si Malek yg berenang cuma sekali melintasi English Chanel, lebih awal dr si Azhar yg merentasi dunia cuma sekali dgn kapal layar, dia org ni (Malek & Azhar dan lain2 yg buat Kerana Mu M'sia) kt mata dunia org kenal ke? at Least klau kita tanya Official kat FIA @ WRC siapa Karamjit diaorg mesti ckp: He's an excelent driver!!!
Jadi pd Wak, wak tak nampak org lain yg bleh sponsor Karamjit selain Proton & Petronas!!! Walau pun Wak org Jawa & beragama Islam, tp Wak tetap support Karamjit yg beragama Sikh, sebab We Are Malaysian!!! and i'm very proud of it!!! Wak sentiasa ikuti perkembangan Karamjit sejak dr pembabitan awal beliau dgn hnya memandu Proton Saga 4WD, masa tu Wak still tingkatan 1. Buat Karamjit "The Flying Sikh", All the best for you!!! wishh you a glorious future!!! Majulah Sukan Utk Negara!!!
some malaysian sailed around the world got datukship- Datuk Azhar Mansor
M. Magendran and N. Mohandas place Jalur Gemilang on M.Everest did not get nothing except a few claps and a pat on the back
Abdul Malik Mydin swam across English channel in 17 hours 35 mins and he was made Datukship
Lennard Lee made it across the same channel in 9 hours 45 mins and was to raise money for cancer patients, he was awarded a direct path to pearly gate and that's it.
Karamjit should be TUN already if he were to compare his credits to all the sports people that were given datukship.
Malaysia oh Malaysia ! Tanah Airku !!!
As much as I buy into the race argument, there remains more truth divested from what napps first highlighted (rally isn't a big commodity – WRC needed much innovation before it's survival in recent years, winning constructors pulling out of WRC, etc).
His shortcomings aesthetically (i say this not as a mirror of oneself but in neutral observation), inability to articulate, sell one self, his age, are all contributing factors to him not getting solid continuous backing. To be honest, a world champions getting 2 offers on the cards are quite little. Can you imagine Schumacher unhappy and only getting 2 teams courting his involvement? Ok not the best metaphor but you get my point.
I don't buy the argument that Proton and Petronas should be his key targets. Increasingly, we don't want Govt-linked corporations rescuing every sorry plight. What we want, is for backing to what is deserved.
Does Karamjit deserve backing from private corporations/ brands relevant to the sport? Yes.
Do they back him? No.
You ve gotta start asking why not.
Napps put it right: Rally isn't big or proven enough a platform. Viewership, interest is down.
Here's a bit more: He's not a bankable personality. His age could be a factor.
Still, I personally wonder if the brands/ corps have got it right. If you spin the communication well, Karamjit and his race wins CAN be a good investment. Rally itself, can be positive association.
Still, I m tremendously sad that a proven talent is not getting support. Take out the Malaysian factor because heck, we Malaysians don't deserve spoon-feeding support. Champions/ Winners deserve support.
And no one can say Karamjit isn't one.
Sad.
So here's a possible solution for Mr Karamjit Singh. Hire a talent management party or a PR company to help his plight. Work on a commission basis i.e. they earn based on how much support he is given or how much he makes.
And then pray it works:)
All the best regardless to the only Malaysian champ in recent memory.
"It was only through the government that we secured the backing to compete in China.For that, we are very grateful indeed"
Apparently the govt did help secure sponsorship for one race..why dont go the whole 9 yards?
History tell us one thing….
Malaysia doesnt treasure talent who their name in 3 character or end with singh.
Count urself ill luck for born in this country Karamjit! i pity u
Ooops i should stop here.
If any car clubs or individuals who love motorsports could make a donation drive for Karamjit.
It is a pity that he could not compete due to lack of sponsors. For me, he is the greatest rally driver from this side of the world.
Simple. If Top scorers in SPM can't even get sponsorships they deserve, when will the govt ever realise the value of champions waiting to be given the support they need.
They have cars named Champion and Hero, but not recognizing true talents can be alarming. I think they should re-budget their expenses and rearrange their priorities.
im proud of karamjit
"Simple. If Top scorers in SPM can’t even get sponsorships they deserve, when will the govt ever realise the value of champions waiting to be given the support they need."
heh…so..where's Lim Goh Tong,Robert Kuok,Yeoh Tay Lai (YTL),and the rest of your super rich bisnesman?why dont they come out and give scholarship to that wonder kid?greedy?stinggy?…see..even your own race dont want to help your own race..keep their money and keep pretending dont hear anything about that wonder kid…even your own race stinggy,greedy,kedekut,dont care about other ppl enuff..why dont u bother?
same goes to Karamjit singh and allen oh..why must wait for gov money?where is Ananda Krishnan and above mention ppl?why dont support that driver and his co?care to enlighten me?huh?
guys, please don't involve racism here.
yeah agree with paul…some kinda hot topic u bring here paul…i think its going too far enuff.
Aiyahh..saper mau sponsor kalau orang media pun tak mau buat special program untuk Rally. Barulah ada market , baarulah ader sponsor. Hello ntv7, tv3, channel 8, rtm(hugh). bikin la satu program untuk rally. Taksudah2 nak support Formula 1 lah race motor lah. dulu ada pun asyik eksiden memanjang. ader ke recer malaysia yagn boleh dibanggakan dlm Moto GP(Syahrul Yuzi :P) atau Formula 1(Alex Yoong)diorang ni tak sudah2 kena sayur.
pls support our rally sport..Tolooooonnng
The sense of "Malaysia Boleh" is not reflected in this matter. Other sports like F1 is given the top priority & publicity but when it comes to locally organised sports such as MRC, not much attention is given (only through magazines). I STRONGLY feel that motorsports SHOULD also be given LOTS of publicity like football. Blame it on our CAREER+MONEY CRAZY SOCIETY. Dont tell me life is all about making money & getting promotion only???????
Karamjit Singh , if you are thinking of your future, look for other car to drive, as long as it do not carry the Proton badge
What are in the mind of a SPONSOR. ??
I get to place my product lable on the car and people will love to see it.
BUT at the end of the day, people get turn away because it is PROTON, so why should I sponsor !!
Proton, clean your image 1st.
This question was posted on the yahoo.com.my
“Should the government protect Proton from foreign competition?â€
more than 65% respondence agree to “No protection please. Proton needs to compete globally or sink â€
Having to raise my children, I know we to let them learn by themselves.
Our son Proton is now 30 years old, still studying in the University, and when there was a big bully push him around, father have to make a trip to the school to inform the teacher , and look for the bully.
Poor old father is now 65+ and one will imagine how long will father still need to do this.
Our son Proton graduated and started working is a big firm, at now age 40, married and have child of his own, his manager scolded our son proton and make him do the report again, poor old father, now at age 75+, DO YOU THINK HE NEED TO GO TO THE OFFICE TO SCOLD THE MANAGER.
GROW UP PROTON
that's malaysia lah…always don't know the right thing to do at the right time. a record like Karamjit Singh can't get a sponsorships who or which sports have better record than that. is just like brazil football team can't get any sponsorships or help from his gov. maybe back door or under table deal can work lah. in this case, is the person that we look at, not the car he drive ( some people just don't like proton ).
and this thing is no personal, is " international ".who care about the car, all we care is Karamjit Singh.
It seems Proton rather sponsor England's football club than helping it's own brand national car rally team? So sad… Did i read wrongly?
mr karamjit, i think u have to move to the other team like mitsu or subaru .The kementerian belia dan sukan look likes can't do anything to help this sport. U have make ur name locally and use it!
LONG LIVE RALLYE SPORT!
Friends, motorsports can never gain popularity BECAUSE we have assholes who still think that we still have the chance to play in the next worldcup. Millions have been drained for our local football sissies. For what>?
There is also the political reason. Petronas and Proton are not really good friends. PEtronas is okay but Proton? They gave RM4m and they say its enough. They are purely riding on PEtronas' effort.
Then there is also the problem of management. Some of the "managers" are kinda questionable.
Go ask the people in the motorsports arena and they'll tell you.
Karamjit is getting older and before he quits, give him a proper chance.
Go Karamjit GO!!!!
i share the same sentiments that our home boy is not gettin fair treatment. our gov is basically bias when it comes to sponsorships and im sure "BIAS" in some "öbvious ways". never learn from mistakes.
The first and only, mind you. He created a new record on his own in the WSSRC; Round the World, assisted, (stops), eastabout, single-handed. No-one on Earth has ever attempted an eastabout route before. The title Datuk is rightfully his.
http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/performance.html
and that UK football club that Proton sponsored just got demoted… hahahahaha
EON should continue sponsoring Karamjit. They are the one who make lots of money cos PERT means Petronas EON racing team. EON made lots of money…. they even bought a bank… EON Bank. As for proton…. they sponsored Norwich before they move up to Premier Div.
I APPEAL TO THE PATRIOTIM OF ALL OF USlah BEFORE WE MAKE ANY RACIAL ACCUSATIONS AND WHAT NOT. THE PROBLEM WT KARAMJIT IS THAT THE WRC IS NOT REALLY A VIABLE INSTITUTION ANYMORElah SO WHATS THE USE. DO U WATCH THE RALLY? DON THINK SO, THINK U WATCH F1, (or god forbid the A1)
It's always like that. Just see the Star's occasional Malaysians Abroad columns. Someone anak Malaysia goes abroad, succeeds in making a name for themselves, then Malaysia takes paternity (maternity?) credit of them.
Who cares how much they struggled before they carved their names in the respective industries? If they were to fail, they wouldn't make this column anyway… they'd just fade into obscurity. But the point is they've succeeded, and this person is a product of our land, hey, they're Malaysian!!
Mr. Karamjit shouldn't have waited so long for sponsorship just to show patriotism. If the country he supports is not willing to support him, wouldn't it be suicidal to keep on this unrequited love?
Sure by now the Government has (finally) taken notice and are pledging to help, but isn't this one step too late? He's already missed one rally — one chance to add another title to his impressive CV!!
Remember how no one knew who Guy Sebastian was, until he won Australian Idol, and suddenly, hey, he's anak Malaysia!!
P.Ramlee was recognized as a former Penang Free School student after he achieved his legendary status. Notice there are no teacher anecdotes about P.Ramlee, basically he was just another student back in those days. The only facts they could squeeze out were that he wasn't academically inclined, liked to hum during lessons, and loved to play football.
Hypocrisy at their best.
But all said, i'm still proud to be Malaysian. Perhaps someday, someone will begin to trace my history… hopefully during my lifetime!
poor karamjit singh, he's doing a lot for our country but what he got?
damn to ALEX YOONG! Big Sponsor, beautiful GF, Big Pocket, but kasi malu aje nombor corot!boloh punya olang!