KUALA LUMPUR — The Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said an inquiry into the death of a motorbike drag racer will be conducted later this month.
Professional drag racer Hattem Rashid died after losing control of his motorcycle at the Malaysia Drag Bike National ET Record Championship Road Tour 2023 at the Pekan Speedway Circuit in Pekan, Pahang on September 3.
It was later found that the organisers of the event did not get the approval of the Motorsport Association of Malaysia (MAM) or the Sports Commissioner’s Office (JPS) to hold the event.
The organisers, MUSC Drag, argued that the event was not an official competition but a ‘Test N Tune’ event.
Because of this, they said they did not need approval from MAM or JPS.
“KBS, MAM and the Department of Youth and Sports (JBSM) will meet to discuss this and will also conduct an inquiry session on September 28, so we will keep you posted.
“We are also aware that there is a police investigation ongoing and for us this is not the first incident and we are trying to close the gap.
“We will update you on the steps that we can take looking into the current law and how we can avoid this kind of event from happening (again),” Hannah said at a press conference at the Malaysian MotoGP launch event here today.
This is not the first fatality in a local drag race.
Last year, a drag racer from Perak, Muhamad Hafez Jamal Jamaludin died at the Terengganu Motor Circuit in Gong Badak after his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX crashed while racing in the Battle of The Kings 2022 race series, which also did not receive approval from MAM. — September 13, 2023