MENAJA PERLUMBAAN YANG MEMAUTKAN

Kalau sudah terlalu laju memandu memang senang untuk maut. Apatah lagi jika kereta yang dicipta tidak mempunyai kebolehan dan pemandunya tidak berpengalaman. Perlumbaan bukan sekadar mencipta nama - tetapi ia satu perniagaan dan permainan yang bergantung kepada konsentrasi minda. Sedikit lalai anda akan terbabas dan mati dengan penuh kengerian.

Demikianlah risiko yang tinggi yang dihadapi oleh sesiapa yang menyertai pemainan ini. Jika tidak yakin jangan bermain sekali-kali kerana nyawa yang melayang tidak akan kembali. Sebarang kematian akan menjerut nama baik tuan rumah sendiri. Dan ia akan sukar padam walaupun seribu tahun lagi.

BAGAIMANA SEPULOH TAHUN LAGI?

Litar F1 rugi lagi dan kali ini lebih teruk dari dua tahun sudah. Cuma 1/3 sahaja tiket terjual. Tetapi kontrek diikat selama 10 tahun! Syarikat Sepang International Circuit itu adalah anak syarikat Malaysian Airports Bhd yang turut termenung kerana semakin kurang syarikat penerbangan mahu singgah ke KLIA. Ia kini memohon bantuan kerajaan. Sahamnya kini sudah bernilai RM1.41 sahaja - paling rendah tahun ini.

Yang peliknya penaja perlumbaan F1 powerboat tajaan Digi.com dapat tersenyum panjang kerana memecahkan rekod tiket jualan. Kini Digi.com akan menaja konset Deep Purple pula.

Kini satu projek menjual tiket bersama TRI dan CAHB dirancang walaupun masa sudah tidak panjang. Sambutan masih sejuk dan rugi kini sudah terbayang. Disebutlah syarikat perhotelan sebagai punca kesukaran kerana menaikkan harga bilik, tetapi persatuan industri itu menafikannya.

RUGI MEMANJANG

Malaysia Airports membelanjakan RM 100 juta setahun untuk menganjurkan perlumbaan itu. Ia rugi RM 23 juta tahun lepas untuknya. Hak siaran yang diberi kepada TV3 masih gagal untuk menolongnya mengurangkan hutang berjumlah RM536 juta. Tahun ini nampaknya ia akan semakin malang.

Pelbagai alasan dikemukakan termasuklah kadar tukaran matawang asing yang lebih baik ketika kontrek di tanda-tangan. Tetapi sekarang ia terkebil-kebil mencari pertolongan untuk satu perniagaan yang rugi memanjang. Inilah satu lagi projek wawasan yang nampaknya semakin mewas-waskan. Bukan satu dua orang yang terkandas di jalan, tetapi beberapa syarikat akan tenggelam - alang-alang mahu menaja perlumbaan.

-TJr Kapal Berita-

Rencana Rujukkan:

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Malaysia's F1 Success Fails to Draw Crowds, Sell Racing Tickets

By David Yong

Kuala Lumpur, March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia is finding out there's more to hosting a Formula One Grand Prix than a $112 million circuit and a home team that just won its first championship points.

With less than a week to go before the second leg of the 17- round Formula One in Kuala Lumpur on March 18, Sepang International Circuit Sdn., which is hosting the car race, hasn't found buyers for about two thirds of the tickets. That's even though home team Sauber-Petronas scored its best start in the first leg in Melbourne about two weeks ago.

``Everyone thought F1 was a gold mine, but the response has been very bad so far,'' said Basir Ismail, chairman of Sepang International, a unit of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd.

With the Malaysian economy slowing, Sepang's bet on the Formula One race, one of the world's most-watched sporting events, risks becoming another grandiose project in the country that's home to the world's tallest building and its longest driverless rail system. It may force Sepang to seek help from the government.

The company, which manages a 5.5 kilometer world-class racing track it built in 1997, blames poor pickings for scrapping the live broadcast of the race by Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Bhd. and the customary race night dinner. Sepang has raised only 36.7 million ringgit ($9.7 million) through ticket sales, significantly below sales a week before the last two races in Kuala Lumpur.

Shares of Sepang's parent, Malaysia Airports, are down to a year's low of 1.41 ringgit, reflecting weakening demand for services at its airports and other businesses as the economy cools. The economy grew 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter, its slowest pace in about 18 months.

Once envied for winning a contract from Formula One's Bernie Ecclestone to host the Kuala Lumpur leg of the race for 10 years, Sepang and Malaysia Airports now face the prospect that they have a white elephant on their hands.

Losing Money

Malaysia Airports, which spends 100 million ringgit a year hosting the race, lost 23 million ringgit on last year's race and other related events. Broadcasting rights to out-of-cash Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Bhd. didn't help trim its 536 million ringgit debt. This year might be worse.

Running a sporting event where each race is viewed by an estimated 350 million people may be too expensive for Sepang and will force it to turn to the government for assistance, company executives said.

``The group intends to seek support from the government to continue organizing world-class motor sports at the Sepang F1 circuit,'' said company secretary Muhammad Arshad. ``At the time we entered into an agreement to host the event, the exchange rate was 2.5 ringgit to a dollar.'' It needs 3.8 ringgit to buy a dollar now. The company also wants tax breaks, he said.

Events surrounding the race this year included a Formula One powerboat race in the southern Johor state that drew a sell-out crowd in February. Digi.Com Bhd., Malaysia's sixth largest mobile phone operator, will sponsor a performance by rock group Deep Purple in one of the post-race performances.

Corporate Support

To get more people into the stadium, Malaysia Airports asked the country's large companies to buy some tickets. Technology Resources Industries Bhd., the country's biggest cellular phone operator, is offering a 15 percent discount on tickets to its subscribers, while No. 2 lender Commerce Asset- Holding Bhd. will give away 450 tickets to account holders in a slogan-writing contest.

Sepang's Basir is unimpressed.

``The response from the corporates has been cold,'' he said, blaming hotels for raising rates and turning away fans -- a charge Malaysian hoteliers refute. Rates in Malaysia are lower than what fans paid in Melbourne in the first race, said Mohamed Khadar Merican, president of the Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners.

International fund managers and investors, who swapped suits and ties for T-Shirts and caps last year won't make it this year. ``I think it comes too soon after October's race,'' said Ben Chan, research head at HSBC Securities in Kuala Lumpur, which invited some 150 to 200 fund managers to last year's race. HSBC is one of the Ford Motor Co.-owned Jaguar-Cosworth team's sponsors.