PUTRAJAYA, Aug 18 — The decision on whether the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) will get the “green light” from the government to extend its contract to host the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) race next year depends on the detailed data collection throughout its organisation.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said the holding of the prestigious race had indeed received quite an encouraging response but the SIC must still convince the Finance Ministry that returns received would provide comprehensive benefits.
“All this requires data to convince the Finance Ministry that there is a return on investment. When we invest, we are not signing only in terms of tourism. It should help support the economy and job opportunities for Malaysians.
“Like the MotoGP temporary jobs that can be generated every year, about 4,500, but we also want to have skills passed down to the people, so that’s why data collection is important and SIC must ensure all this is recorded to convince the Finance Ministry that it is not a waste,” she said.
She said this after officiating the Jalur Gemilang handover ceremony for the national contingent to the Southeast Asian (SEA) Deaf Games 2025 here today.
Yesterday, the media reported that SIC is negotiating with Dorna Sports (the rights holder for the MotoGP) to renew the Malaysian GP contract, which expires next year.
Meanwhile, Yeoh expressed hope that national badminton athletes perform excellently at the World Championships in Paris from August 25 to 31.
“I am confident our badminton players can perform well, especially those under the Road To Gold (RTG) Programme, but I also hope the players are not too tired because we know the badminton calendar is very tight, compact.
“In any case, they need to continue playing to be in the RTG and I always pray that there will be no injuries to our athletes because that will make it difficult for many parties,” she said.
Among the badminton athletes in the RTG are doubles pairs Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik, Goh Sze Fei-Nur Izzuddin Rumsani, Man Wei Chong-Tee Kai Wun, Pearly Tan-M.Thinaah, Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie.
Earlier, 80 athletes took on the country’s challenge at the SEA Deaf Games in Jakarta, which is only 20 people less than the largest contingent, Indonesia, which is fielding 100 athletes as host.
The Malaysian contingent includes 53 athletes and 27 officials who will be involved in six events: futsal, athletics, badminton, tenpin bowling, chess, and table tennis.
