Kaji bagaimana F1 jana RM950 juta, kata pakar

Economist Yeah Kim Leng and tourism management expert Hafiz Hanafiah have both stated that the key to boosting Malaysia's economic benefits through the hosting of the F1 Grand Prix is a deep study of the issue. The research aims to determine exactly how the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix, which recently took place in Sepang, generated an economic activity worth RM950 million, before the government decided to make it a regular event.

Yeah Kim Leng, an economist from Sunway University, highlighted the need to first identify the total spending over the weekend of the race on October 2-4. This spending may come partly from Malaysian citizens who spend their money elsewhere, such as taking a holiday or engaging in other recreational activities. Hafiz Hanafiah, a lecturer in tourism management at Universiti Teknologi Mara, used the analogy of a bathtub to explain his viewpoint.

He said Malaysia's economy is like a bathtub, and the amount of water in it will only increase if more water is poured into it. If a Malaysian citizen cancels a trip to Langkawi just to buy F1 tickets, they are effectively moving water from one part of the bathtub to another, and the water level doesn't rise. He emphasized that foreign tourist spending is crucial to stimulating Malaysia's economic growth.

Last week, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Taufik Johari announced that the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix generated USD232 million, or RM950 million for Malaysia. Around 261,000 spectators filled the seats over the three-day race. Taufik also said the event attracted more than 50,000 foreign tourists to Malaysia. In other words, the government is considering the possibility of hosting the F1 event in a few years, in cooperation with other countries, instead of annually.

However, he said this is still in the early stages, and reports on costs and expected benefits will be ready by the end of next month. Hafiz noted that even though Malaysia only hosted the event once in the coming years, each time it needs to generate at least RM300 million in additional revenue from foreign tourist spending to ensure it is worth it.

Nonetheless, this figure is enough to cover the hosting fee that needs to be paid to Liberty Media, the commercial rights holder of F1. For the Sepang F1 race, Bahrain paid the hosting fee, allowing Malaysia to benefit from the tourist spending without incurring any upfront costs. Therefore, it is clear, said Hafiz, Bahrain will receive all ticket sales revenue.

Yeah added that this rule will not apply to future events if Malaysia decides to host the race only once again. Involving the private sector, he said, the government can involve private companies to stage the event and absorb the hosting costs, as Singapore has done. He also suggested extending the F1 event to 10 days and holding it in different regions across the country to encourage longer stays by local tourists and further spending.

However, Yeah warned that Putrajaya needs to first determine whether the RM300 million needed to host the race is better spent on urgent public needs such as schools and hospitals. The same funds could be used to tackle more pressing economic priorities. Yeah suggested holding the race only once rather than annually to reduce the government's spending while maintaining public interest.

However, continuous funding is needed for the regular Sepang International Circuit. Hafiz said the cost of staging the circuit to meet F1 standards could reach RM10 million per year.