KUALA LUMPUR – Sports Tech Holding, the local partner of Formula E, has three main agendas that it wants to achieve concerning its interest in bringing the single-seater electric-car race series to Malaysian shores.
Its chief executive officer, Wan Agyl Wan Hassan, said it wanted the race to be a vehicle to boost tourism during Visit Malaysia 2026, accelerate electric-vehicle (EV) adoption and promote sustainability.
“We believe that this is the right time to support the tourism agenda for Visit Malaysia 2026; the race can be an element to boost tourism because we have been offered by Formula E to host the final race of the season.
“That means the focus of the series will be wholly on Malaysia, and this is a good opportunity to showcase our tourism products to the world.
“The race can also be seen as an effort to support the government’s agenda on EVs, shifting to more sustainable transport options and accelerating the adoption of green vehicles.
“The series is also about sustainability, and that is what we want to bring to the city, especially Kuala Lumpur,” he said when contacted by Scoop.
Hosting Formula E races is not new to the country as the Putrajaya street circuit was the venue for two races, in 2014 and 2015.
However, since then, the series has not returned to the country.
Wan Agyl believes that a decade ago when Putrajaya hosted the series, EVs were not considered as “sexy” as they are right now.
He added that Putrajaya was more of an administrative city, and drawing crowds to the race was a challenge.
“We cannot simply say that we have the interest of the local fans towards Formula E because it is still young compared to Formula One.
“But interest in EVs is on the up among the local population, and we believe that will help bring attention to the race.
“We want to have it in Kuala Lumpur as it is the capital of the country. With the right promotional strategy and with partnership from the government, I believe we can build the fan base here.
“Also, when you look at the Formula E audience numbers globally, it is increasing, especially in Asian and European markets. So we would like to capitalise on that,” added Wan Agyl.
Last week, a local news portal reported that Formula E had engaged with the government to hold the race in Malaysia but did not receive a response.
However, Wan Agyl said that since then, they had received a very positive response from the government.
“We have engaged with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and have received good feedback. We are also waiting for a call from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“On top of that, we have been advised by the PMO to engage with several other ministries like the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry where we will have a meeting with Tourism Malaysia tomorrow.
“We have also engaged with the Youth and Sports Ministry and will have a meeting with them on Monday to present our proposal and are waiting for an appointment date to meet with the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry.
“They are very keen and excited to see the race,” said Wan Agyl. – March 20, 2024