Let’s pause to think
Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
My View - The Sun Daily
April 25, 2017
THE new velodrome at Nilai for the SEA Games is expected to be ready by the end of this month. It is a befitting accolade for our gold-medal hero: the Pocket Rocketman – Azizulhasni Awang. Syabas!
It is also our fervent hope that the fate of this multimillion-ringgit facility will fare better than Velodrom Rakyat or Sepang International Circuit, the venue for Formula 1 (F1) races.
I raised in 2009 the possibility of F1 races going the way of fox-hunting. It seems that possibility will become real as Sepang holds its last F1 race this year.
When Malaysia announced its foray into F1, it was greeted with much exuberance all round. Some lauded it as a bold move in the world of automotive engineering, and others for its multibillion advertising and promotional advantages. In contrast, Toyota – one of the world's largest carmakers – then was already pulling out of F1, after participating in about 140 championship races without a single win. Toyota's intention to withdraw, given that it is a credible car making giant, should have raised eyebrows and made us pause and think. We did not despite the fact that Honda, another famous Japanese carmaker, had already pulled out. So, too, Germany's BMW. Even Bridgestone, the tyremaker, reportedly wanted to stop supplying tyres for the F1 from 2011. And Goodyear had left much earlier. Allegedly, other motor sports were also facing similar trends and difficulties. Thus, it is not surprising for Malaysia with its fledgling car industry to eventually fall in line.
What lesson can we learn from fox-hunting which is now banned? Plenty.
It is an expensive, high maintenance sports "enjoyed" by a privileged few. Other reasons include the ecological impact – for F1: the use of fossil fuel, the noise pollution, the massive wasting of nature for the tracks, and so on – all deemed as not eco-friendly. Besides, the worldwide shift preferring smaller and environmentally clean vehicles makes "speed" – what F1 is most noted for – losing its appeal. Especially, as cars become a necessity for the masses, it creates its own ecological havoc. Thus, when Toyota, a committed "green" industrial leader, made the call to quit, it sent a powerful warning. In other words, like fox-hunting, F1 is being reduced to a sport that preys on its "stature" because of the demeaning values against nature in particular.
Malaysia's record on ecological ethics is not particularly "strong" but there is more to it. Foremost, the long-term maintenance mentality as in the case of the Velodrom Rakyat in Ipoh, reportedly left in "a state of disrepair". This is despite the sports bringing medals home every now and again, unlike the F1 case since its inception in 1999 with the exception perhaps of Alex Yoong in 2001 and 2002. Yoong has been quoted saying he was not surprised with the move to axe F1. In contrast, he had expected it being "mostly a marketing exercise"; adding, "It has been a 20-year marketing exercise and marketing exercises have shelf lives. So I've always felt for a few years now it was coming to its end".
But that is not all that is disturbing – for sure Malaysia's loss will be someone else's gain. What is more worrying is that Malaysia can "excel" at starting something innovative and ahead of others but is unable to bear the competition? The examples of these abound including in education, research and innovation. Yet of late, we hear that Malaysia wants to do a "Davos" by bringing in the rich and famous to speak to a limited but hefty-paying crowd. Previously it was more open and financially affordable to more Malaysians who also thirst for knowledge to prosper and transform. This time the government is said to be "subsidising" a private entity many millions of ringgit to boost the project. It is unclear why this is so especially when everyone is tightening their belts. The contradiction is stark.
Are we reading right what the celebrated entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson (who was invited here as a speaker), wrote in Screw Business as Usual (2011), namely, turning capitalism upside down, shifting our values, switching from a focus on profit to caring for people, communities and the planet. If so, carry on and "screw" F1.
But what about the ambitious nascent Davos-like project? Though the jury is still out, the rakyat need to be convinced that it is not another elitist marketing exercise at their expense. We cannot afford another fiasco. Under the circumstances the writing on the wall is too obvious to ignore as we did in the Toyota example for F1.