The Government Is Spending RM30 Million To Build A Race Track For Youths
It is said that the new race track will benefit Malaysian youths.
By Tang Ruxyn — 14 Feb 2017, 11:18 AM
There will be a special race track for youths in Sungai Petani, Kedah in the near future
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on Sunday, 12 January, in Alor Setar that the government is allocating RM30 million to build the race track.
It is said that the "announcement met with thunderous applause" from the 4,000 youths who were present at the event.
"The track will benefit the youth, there will be no more need for mat rempit to race on the streets," Najib was quoted as saying by The Star.
"They can race all they want on a track then," the premier added.
In the last few years, there have been talks to keep illegal motorcycle street racers (notoriously known as 'mat rempit) in Malaysia off the streets by providing them a proper race track for them to utilise.
Although Najib said that this upcoming race circuit will benefit the youths, the idea does not sit too well with many netizens
Quite a number of Malaysians pointed out that some of the key sectors in government have suffered budget cuts, and opined that the RM30 million funds could have been used for healthcare and education.
On the other hand, there are also those who welcomed the initiative
Quite a number of people, especially motorsports enthusiasts, supported the government's move to build a special race track.
They argued that this move could propel Malaysia to become a motorsports hub. They also said hat the certain people are deprived of such facilities, thus leading people to race along highways.
At the moment, no further details have been given about the race circuit. However, the public can expect more information to be revealed in the near future.
Current Kedah MB Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah is expected to deliver more updates on the matter, including its expected launch date.
Meanwhile, it was reported that the idea for this race track was first proposed by the then Kedah MB Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir in 2014.
Back then, Mukhriz said that Kedah will have its own race track by 2017.
At that time, it was said that the track will be rated as Class 4 under the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) - the world governing bodies for car racing and motorcycle racing.
What this simply means is that races like the Malaysia Superbike Championship (MSC), touring car races and cub prix events can hold their races there, although races like MotoGP and Formula 1 won't be allowed.