Parliament: KPI for 1Malaysia F1

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/10/26/nation/20091026141442&sec=nation (26/10/2009)

The Malaysian Formula 1’s performance was hotly discussed Monday in the House and it was suggested that a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) be created to measure the team’s success.

“Can the Government give an assurance to the people that it will not bail out the 1Malaysia F1 team if it suffers huge losses and cannot continue on its own? What if the team comes in last in the F1? This would bring embarrassment to Malaysians,” said Lim Lip Eng (Segambut-DAP) in his supplementary question to the Youth and Sports Ministry. "Since this project involves the policy and slogan ‘1Malaysia’ that was launched by the Prime Mnister, where the people come first and performance is a priority, would the Government monitor the KPI of the team and announce it to the public?” he said.

Datuk Razali Ibrahim (Muar-BN) replied that the name for the F1 team would be revealed after it has got sponsors and it would not necessarily use the slogan “1Malaysia. Maybe we would use ‘1Malaysia Lotus F1’ team. The Prime Minister said that support would be given because it is an initiative by a local company. “Naturally, all initiatives done for Malaysia will continue to receive support from the Government, and the Government will continue to ensure that the decision made is a success for the people,” he said. Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan (BN-Kota Belud) also suggested that a KPI could be created to gauge not only the team’s performance on the podium but also its effectiveness in promoting the country as a tourist destination. Razali defended the F1 initiative, claiming that the exposure Malaysia gains from its F1 team would save the country millions in advertising expenditure. “The exposure would be enormous. For now, we have to pay RM1mil for a one-minute advertisement in Japan. With the F1 team, we have huge advertisement time,” he claimed.

Earlier, Lim asked the ministry to reveal the Government’s investment in the project and whether it would be financially beneficial to the Government over the next five years.
Razali said the country would benefit from the branding and marketing strength of the F1 sport which has about 600 million fans worldwide and is one the most popular sports around. “With telecasts several times a year in strategic locations worldwide, this would promote Malaysia continuously to stimulate our tourism industry. “Malaysia will also be proud of the F1 car as it is produced locally and its components are from Malaysia. This would increase the profiles of local companies and also boost the world’s confidence in sophisticated Malaysian technology. The 1Malaysia F1 Team would also provide space to develop and expand local talent in automotive and motor sports,” he said.