Are you confidence in yourself? I know that a lot of us, including myself, do have the talents / skills and knowledge but just do not dare to take the next steps that might the stopper to your own success.
If we do not take the next steps or overcome our lack of confident, we will be stagnant and will be living in dark forever.
Yong Kah Leong, in his late 30s and weighing in at 160kg, Leong had been battling with his weight for years. He had a personal challenge of losing weight to have a better quality of life and gain self confidence. It’s very important that we always to have self confidence so that when doing / performing a task we would not fallback and will strike the goal.
Our perception of ourselves have enormous impact on how others perceive us. Perception is reality, the more self confidence you have, the more likely it is you’ll succeed!
Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives, yet so many people struggle to find it. Sadly, this can be a vicious circle, People who lack self-confidence can find it difficult to become successful.
As part of his mentoring programme, he ran the Penang Bridge International Marathon, which was held recently in Penang. Having never run in a marathon before, Leong wanted to prove to himself that it is never too late to change and do something that he never thought he could do.
When Jack Lim 林德荣 first met Leong, he was an overweight gentleman with low self esteem. His style and movements were slow and he lacked the energy to do any strenuous activities.
The three months that followed prior to the run was grueling to Leong as he underwent a series of workout sessions under a personal trainer from Fitness First. Nevertheless, he never gave up and was determined all the way.
During his free time, he and Jack also ran in the park to build up his stamina. He keep pushing himself to get fit and wants to looks good so that people will not turn away from him because of his size.
Leong was also engaged with a dietician from the Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, Ms. Lee Ching Li, who educated him on the right food to take. In fact, for three months, his food intake was constantly monitored. It’s not only keeping fit but it’s also being healthy and having a better lifestyle.
At the recent Penang Bridge International Marathon, Leong completed his first 10km run, with the support from Jack and friends. This is a kind biggest achievement for him I supposed as he able to complete the very first 10km marathon which I myself also yet to run for 10km marathon before!
Quote from Leong: I was so excited and inspired when I completed my first run, and I want to continue training and do a full marathon some day. I have learned that with determination and confidence, you can achieve anything.
He was someone who was nervous, fumbling and overly apologetic, but now it’s the total opposite!
Are you one of them like Leong? Just a small change in your lifestyle can make a difference to a healthier you. So start having a good diet and exercise more from today! Life your life better and undoubtedly!
Are you confidence in yourself? I know that a lot of us, including myself, do have the talents / skills and knowledge but just do not dare to take the next steps that might the stopper to your own success. If we do not take the next steps or overcome our lack of confident, we will be stagnant and will be living in dark forever.
That happened to me few years back where I’m really lack of confident in everything that I do. I will keep asking myself, am I doing the right thing? Will I be success in what I’m doing right now and what if I made the wrong choice and end up in a failure? We tend to care a lot on what other people comment or think of what we do will be the right choice or not, that might be another stopper if your friends or family do not support in what you are planning to do or currently doing.
It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else eyes. I have actually come out with a tagline for myself to follow and it will be always my guide and now it’s my principle.
“有才华就不要被埋没。有梦想就要去追求。”
– It means, if we have the talents or skills, we must show and prove it, but not keeping it to ourselves. If we have a dream or target, we have to work hard to achieve it!
Apple Cheng Jia is one of the winner in the “Persona – Better, Undoubtedly” campaign. She has a personal dream of breaking through into the show business via acting, but lack self confidence, not sure on how to make an impact during auditions, and what is required to be an actor.
She underwent a mentoring programme with DJ Jack Lim 林德荣 who shared tips & pointers to be an actor under the ‘Persona – Better, Undoubtedly’ campaign. Jack Lim giving a lot of encouragement to Apple so that she will be more confident in releasing her dream of becoming a famous actress.
Jack advise Apple that : “Building confidence and having the “don’t give up” attitude is crucial to be successful in show business. It took me 18 years before I became a successful radio host and actor, and it wasn’t an easy ride. Determination and “never give up” attitude allowed me to overcome my initial fail attempts to achieve my dreams.” This really helps in giving encouragement to Apple and gets her started with her dream.
Jack Lim challenges Apple for an impromptu scene act at Tesco to build her confidence & acting skills. She has to reserve 3 empty parking lot and whenever people want to park on the parking lot, she has to act and tell them the space is taken and reserved. That’s quite challenging as she was not given any script but just told to think of all sort of ideas just to hold and reserved the 3 parking lot. Check out the video to know more about the test.
Jack Lim told Apple that : “In order to act well, it is important that you let yourself go. Don’t be worried about being overdramatic; it is better than not being daring. Don’t be embarrassed, shy or worry how others see you. Just do it!”
Jack Lim also advise Apple not to memorize scripts. Understand it, feel it and follow these easy tips to ace a scene:
Step 1: The instant you receive a script, imagine yourself in the scene.
Step 2: Understand what it is all about.
Step 3: Think of the director, what it is that he wants.
Step 4: Think of the other person(s) you are supposed to have a dialogue with in the scene.
Step: 5: And when you arrive at the actual shooting location, observe and see if it is the same as what you had imagined.
This is how Apple played the car park scene. You will be surprised that the actual thing is not very different from what you had imagined earlier on.
After that, Apple landing a supporting role in Ah Beng: 3 Wishes which will be in the cinemas in January 2012. She went to the Ah Beng supporting role audition and she made it! She is confident enough in the audition that made her a supporting role in Ah Beng: 3 Wishes.
It’s a lot of others people dreams to be a part of a movie even just a supporting role but she has made it! That’s her determination and “never give up” attitude that gain her this supporting role and it’s really a stepping stone for Apple in her future career.
Apple is now on the path to becoming another big shot and famous actress one day!
Quote from Jack : “To everyone out there, if you have a personal dream that you want to achieve, go for it! Don’t let anyone or anything deter you from it. Have a dream, do a game plan to achieve it, work towards it, be confident and don’t give up if you fail numerous times.”
So are you confident enough to achieve your dream?
Have you checked out the new Proton Saga FLX? The All New Proton Saga FLX provides consumers with greater savings on fuel consumption and smoother drive with the use of Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) technology. The new Saga FLX is so stylish and packed with class-leading features.
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) CVT uses a belt instead of fixed gears to turn engine torque into power. This means smooth gearshifts, better fuel economy, less engine wear and tear and eco-friendly emissions.
The flexibility of a CVT allows the driving shaft to maintain a constant angular velocity over a range of output velocities. This can provide better fuel economy than other transmissions by enabling the engine to run at its most efficient revolutions per minute (RPM) for a range of vehicle speeds.
Stepped Automatic Transmission (SAT)
Allows you to switch instantly simulates the feel of a standard 6-speed automatic transmission. Unfortunately, the Saga FLX does not offer the “tiptronic” function as offered in the Inspira/Lancer.
Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)
In case of emergencies, ABS helps to keep the car stable under hard braking to prevent accident and injury. An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.
Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD)
EBD maximises stopping power and stablility by adjusting force applied to brake on each wheel. EBD is an automobile brake technology that automatically varies the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle’s brakes, based on road conditions, speed, loading, etc.
Always coupled with anti-lock braking systems, EBD can apply more or less braking pressure to each wheel in order to maximize stopping power whilst maintaining vehicular control.
SRS Airbags
It reduce the risk of sever injuries in the event of collision with the equipped dual SRS airbags. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window.
With SRS Airbags in Proton Saga FLX you will feel more secure and could safe your life when you are involved in an accident.
Power windows
Saga FLX power windows are a convenience that now comes with a lifetime warranty with a peace of mind. That’s where customer satisfaction come! No worries of power windows with the lifetime warranty covered.
Proton Sage FLX Exterior
Check out the exclusive look of the Proton Saga FLX. You might attract girls by driving one of it!
Proton Saga FLX – It’s even better!
It comes with modern rim design which enhance the look and feel of Proton Saga FLX.
Proton Sage FLX Interior
The interior of Proton Saga FLX is very spacious and with nicely organized dashboard so that it will not look too compact.
There’s a compartment below the steering and above the paddles for your convenient that you could keep your smart tag and other necessarily stuff that you could get hold of easily! It make your life easier.
CD Player with USB drive player. You can just store all your MP3 files into a thumb drive and get to enjoy the music while enjoying the driving pleasure! Do remember to bring a thumb drive with your favorite songs when you go to test drive the new Proton Saga FLX and test out the excitement of it!
Don’t you feel like owning this car as it’s affordable and equipped with so many must have features.
Check out the video below for the space and the boot of Proton Saga FLX. It’s big! The spacious boot can accommodates few big baggage and some other stuff that you need for your road trips!
The Proton Saga FLX is really worth all the money spend as it’s equipped with all the necessarily features. It’s available in a new colour – Elegant Brown, in addition to the existing options of Tranquility Black, Genetic Silver, Solid White and Blue Rock.
It is priced between RM 38,598 and RM 44,998 and is now available for bookings and can be viewed at all Proton showrooms nationwide. Go to test drive now and I’m sure you will fall in love with the new Proton Saga FLX! Now you can own a car with safety features in affordable price without compromising on the safety!
Check out the official Proton Saga FLX website to understand more about Proton Saga FLX and experience it yourself! http://www.epicsaga.com.my/
Are you confidence in yourself? I know that a lot of us, including myself, do have the talents / skills and knowledge but just do not dare to take the next steps that might the stopper to your own success. If we do not take the next steps or overcome our lack of confident, we will be stagnant and will be living in dark forever.
That happened to me few years back where I’m really lack of confident in everything that I do. I will keep asking myself, am I doing the right thing? Will I be success in what I’m doing right now and what if I made the wrong choice and end up in a failure? We tend to care a lot on what other people comment or think of what we do will be the right choice or not, that might be another stopper if your friends or family do not support in what you are planning to do or currently doing.
It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else eyes. I have actually come out with a tagline for myself to follow and it will be always my guide and now it’s my principle.
“有才华就不要被埋没。有梦想就要去追求。”
– It means, if we have the talents or skills, we must show and prove it, but not keeping it to ourselves. If we have a dream or target, we have to work hard to achieve it!
With that, Proton Edar recently launched the all-new campaign for the Persona called “Persona – Better, Undoubtedly” or “Sememangnya Lebih Sempurna”. This five month will introduces two new Persona Ambassadors, DJ Lin from Suria FM and Aanantha from THR Raaga, who will join the current Persona Ambassador Jack Lim 林德荣 from MY FM (aka Ah Beng) that will engage Malaysians on distinct platform with the theme “inspiring confidence”.
The ‘Better, Undoubtedly’ Campaign sees the three Persona ambassadors take on a new role as mentors, sharing their life lessons to guide people from various backgrounds to face their own challenges. Each of the ambassadors will champion their own programmes which have been developed based on their life experiences.
During the campaign’s course, these three ambassadors who were chosen based on their life experiences, will take on roles as mentors, sharing their life lessons to guide people from various backgrounds to face their own challenges. It’s truly 1Malaysia concept as you can see from the chosen Proton Persona Ambassadors. Each ambassador will have his or her own programme developed based on their respective experiences.
Jack Lim 林德荣, is one of the tough person and he will never give up easily. He has had a difficult beginning before he become a successful radio host and actor, but his determination and ‘never give up’ attitude allowed him to overcome his initial failed attempts to achieve his dreams which he will never achieve if he did no persist.
“Jack Lim : Confidence comes from your preparation for the work. If you want to have more confidence in doing something you have to put effort preparing for it.”
Do you want to boost up your confident level and achieve what you are able to achieve? Jack Lim will attempt a personal challenge and invite others to also take own the challenges that they have always wanted to pursue but were too frightened or lacked the motivation in the ‘Better, Undoubtedly’ Campaign. He will be selecting three candidates and mentoring them through their challenge.
On Thursday, 12 May, Jack will be attempting a personal challenge to drive from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Johor Bharu, taking inspiration from his father who was a salesman who travelled all over the country, doing everything he could to support the needs of his family.
Once his father even drove non-stop from Thailand to Singapore for work. As a young boy, Jack used to follow his father on some of his journeys, and he was inspired by his father’s determination and perseverance.
During this challenge Jack will be making stops at Butterworth, Ipoh, KL and Johor Bharu. So tune in to MYFM for more details to meet him and be part of his charity challenge.
Are you constantly seeking to achieve greater things, but you find that you are lacking in confidence? Boost your confidence with Jack Lim! So fear not and be a confident person and go for the next steps in your life! Together we could do better.
Some of the older clips that taken by Jack Lim.
Besides being competitively priced, quality vehicle that gives drivers more confidence behind the wheel of their car, Proton Persona also contributes to the drivers’ lifestyle needs. Do check out Proton Persona Today!
When I was young I always heard about Karamjit Singh and recon as a professional race driver in rallying, from then I love to watch rally.
Rejoining international rallying after a five-year break, PROTON’s return to the coveted Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) has paid off handsomely when it emerged second in the Manufacturer’s Championship in its first full season.
A one-two finish at the recently-concluded China Rally last weekend by Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson reaffirmed the Malaysian car manufacturer’s resolve, determination and competitiveness in the global rallying arena as it placed itself between the traditionally-dominant manufacturers Mitsubishi and Subaru. Malaysia Boleh~!
As an added bonus, the spirited drive by McRae also earned the Scottish driver third placing in the APRC Driver’s Championship and an even bigger cause for celebration at the PROTON camp.
Victory in China closes PROTON’s international rally campaign for the year on a high after seeing its drivers and the Satria Neo S2000 car endure a series of misfortunes that had often denied the team of more podium finishes. The victory reaffirms the Satria Neo S2000 and PROTON’s competitiveness as a manufacturer on the international rally arena.
PROTON had competed in five of the six APRC rounds this year that began with the Rally of Malaysia, Rally of Japan, Rally of New Zealand and Rally of Australia. The team had looked forward to scoring more points in the Rally of Indonesia but the event was cancelled by FIA due to weather condition which was not fit for a rally event. Prior to China, PROTON’s best result was a second place in the Rally of New Zealand.
In addition to the APRC, the Satria Neo S2000 had also competed in this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) where it went head to head with the likes of more established Manufacturer Teams that included Peugeot, Skoda, Ford, Abarth Fiat, Honda as well as Mitsubishi and Subaru.
Acknowledging that to excel in international rallying requires time, investment and continuity, Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin said motorsports is one of several key strategies being pursued to establish PROTON as a global brand. Motorsports has proven to be an ideal and cost-effective platform for the company to generate greater brand awareness in the countries it exports its vehicles to. Equally important, it has also provided PROTON the opportunity to showcase the reliability, strength and performance of the Satria Neo.
“Motorsports builds an emotional bond between car manufacturers and enthusiasts, it helps to inject excitement into the brand or a particular model, it propels sales, it provides a platform in which technology and technical know-how can be used to enhance future road-going models, and as one excels it extends recognition and underlines brand superiority.”
In terms of exposure, both the APRC and IRC events command enormous publicity and television viewers worldwide to promote the PROTON brand globally. The APRC is available to television audiences in over 129 countries and in 2009, reached an audience of 390 million viewers. The IRC meanwhile, is broadcast via Eurosports TV in 59 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and America reaching 240 million television viewers. In addition, PROTON has also garnered enormous support, interest and following via the posting of updates on its rallies over social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
In China, the Satria Neo S2000 stamped its competitiveness by being the only Super 2000 rally car to compete against a field largely dominated by the turbocharged Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru Impreza rally cars.
In a rally so rough and one that had taken a heavy toll on so many competitors, only 24 of the original 44 starters completed the two-day event held in the mountainous region and bamboo forests just outside of Longyou city. The rally included the participation of manufacturers such as Mitsubishi, Subaru, Volkswagen, Suzuki, Honda, Citroen, Peugeot, Cherry and BYD.
A further stamp of approval to PROTON’s success in China was also the debut of four Proton Gen2s that completed the 229.19km rally. The cars are known in China as the Europestar, under an OEM collaboration between PROTON and Zhejiang Youngman Passenger Car Group Co. Ltd.
Let’s support our Malaysia Proton Team in the upcoming future Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).
Follow Proton Motorsports in Facebook : Facebook
Follow Proton Motorsports in Twitter : Twitter
The all new Waja Replacement – Proton Inspira is gonna launched soon? Rumor said it’s next month, November. Proton Inspira design similar to Mitsubishi Lancer GT.
Model Baru Proton – Proton Inspira. Some ppl so creatively name it Waja Lancer = WaLan… Hahah… =p
Mitsubishi Lancer GT
New Proton Inspira – Waja Replacement Model
Proton Inspira 1.8 is available for both Manual and Automatic transmission. Proton Inspira 2.0 is only available for Automatic transmission.
-Bold and aggressive styling
-Trunk Remote Control
-Paddle Shift Performance
-Fully Automatic Climate Control
-5-star Safety Rating
-2 Years Free Servicing
Check out the brochure that been circulating around the net. The price is around RM80k. Will you buy this product of Proton? Not for me anymore as I was a previous Proton user and this price does not impress me even the design is copying from Mitsubishi Lancer GT. Some even say you can start to book now with just RM1000 booking fees.
Woots! Malaysia’s World No.1 Datuk Lee Chong Wei beat Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana in Malaysia Open Finals at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil. Lee Chong Wei won 21-13, 21-7 in just 35 mins. This was Chong Wei sixth Malaysian Open badminton title. I would say it’s an easy match for Chong Wei and he played with confident and outplayed Ponsana.
See Ponsana was smiling when he made mistake and he knew that he could not fight with Lee Chong Wei.
Lee Chong Wei won USD15,000.00
Koo Kien Keat / Tan Boon Heong have beaten another China pair today in the finals after eliminating the younger China pair yesterday at semi finals. It was a tough rubber games with the China pair Zhendong GUO / Chen XU.
The China pair was good at attacking leaving KKK / TBH in defensive styles but after some guidance by Rexy, they went attacking all the way and finally Malaysia won and it was also due to the massive support by the audience! Kien Keat and Boon Heong even threw their racquets to the audiences! Arghh… too bad can’t manage to grab it. Koo Kien Keat / Tan Boon Heong won 21-15, 17-21, 21-16 in almost 1 hour.
This was the perfect net shot.
Jumping smash!
Juara Bergu 2010
Luckily the downpour happened right after the last match, if not the leaking of water will definitely affect us the audience.
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Went to TTDI NAZA and NAZA World @ Federal High Way to test drive and check out on the white color Kia Forte. It’s awesome!
Kia Forte Test Drive Unit – Titanium Silver
Kia Forte – Bright Silver
Kia Forte – Clear White (not metallic but it’s 2k solid white)
This white Kia Forte is awesome for me! It’s good and it will make the Kia Forte looks much elegant and bigger. Ilusi optic ma.
Will talk about this new Naza Kia Forte Interior soon. Stay tuned. I have made a booking on this Kia Forte and placed a booking fees, deciding on the color and finding cheaper loan with the interest rate of 3.0 or 3.1 if possible and finding the highest price to trade in my Proton Wira Aeroback 1.3 Manual year 2002. Anybody looking for this car and want to buy?
Car One Moment, MPV The Next – Perodua Alza : Meaning it’s still a car la… basically. haha.
It’s like what I tell ppl… the new Perodua Alza MPV is just like longer version of MyVi “MyVi 拉长版“. Haha… So what’s your view on Produa Alza vs Proton Exora? Look similar to Proton Exora but price wise Perodua Alza is cheaper than Proton Exora. Personally I think this model will bring Perodua to another level after Myvi and this is in the MPV category. Good job Perodua!
So which do you think ppl will buy? I think cheaper version will be more popular among Malaysian agree with me? haha. I’m sure this will beat Toyota Avanza also since it’s using Toyota engine and 1.5 leh! Right?
Toyota Vios engine? Two more advanced versions that will have a complete bodykit, GPS with reverse camera, tinted windows and leather seats will go on sale from March next year.
Updates it’s Avanza Engine. 3SZ-VE which is used in the Avanza but not 1NZ-FE which is used in VIOS.
Perodua MPV Alza Specs 1.5 Standard / 1.5 Premium Specs
1.5 Advanced Version Specs
Click for details specs (The official Perodua website a bit jam up coz of this Perodua MPV Alza Launched today.) Get the full Perodua Alza brochurehere
Perodua Alza MPV goes on sale Tuesday
By LESTER KONG
KUALA LUMPUR: The newly launched 1.5litre Perodua Alza MPV goes on sale Tuesday.
The prices range between RM56,000 to RM64,000 per unit for the standard model and between RM67,000 and RM70,000 for the advanced version.
Alza, which means “to rise” in Spanish, rose to the occasion when it was launched with the tagline “Versatile As You” at a ceremony that saw about 900 industry players, Perodua staff, local and foreign journalists and car enthusiasts.
It has already seen 3,500 bookings in ten days.
It was learnt that waiting periods for delivery to buyers of the Alza could be as short as ten days or within three months.
The 1.5-litre engine Alza comes in six variants – two standards and two premiums with either 4-speed automatic or 5-speed manual transmissions.
Two more advanced versions will go on sale from March next year with complete bodykit, GPS with reverse camera, tinted windows and leather seats.
The seven-seater comes standard with projector headlamps, LED taillights, centre-mounted meter panels and a second row seat with a 150mm sliding room on rails.
Its audio system accommodates CD, MP3 and WMA formats with a USB portand Bluetooth connectivity thrown in for the premium versions.
The premium versions also feature for the first time in Peroduavehicles switches for the audio system such as volume control andradio channel dial.
The meter panel’s multi-info display also shows average fuel consumption and maximum travelling range at the current fuel level.
Aimed at young families and single urban males and females, the Alza also debuted with a new colour, Classy Purple along with Ebony Black, Ivory White, Pearl White, Medallion Grey, and Glittering Silver.
Perodua managing director Datuk Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar said the best selling national car maker targeted to sell between 3,500 and 4,000 units of the new MPV monthly.
He added that the Alza was all about giving passengers the space they needed with the handling that feels like one is driving a car.
“It’s all about how you use space. All about being versatile and stylish and keeping it affordable to own and maintain.
“With the introduction of the Alza, Perodua aims to maintain its pole position in 2010 in terms of sales with a target of 176,000, the highest ever for Perodua,” he told reporters before the launch.
It was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Monday.
Regarded as the “most Malaysian” Perodua to date, Perodua chairman TanSri Asmat Kamaludin said the MPV was developed with nearly 90 percent locally made components.
It was developed over two years by Perodua with about RM300mil in investment.
The bestselling MyVi was developed with RM280mil in 2005 and RM240mil for the Viva launched in 2007.
“The Alza represents the maturity of Malaysian automotive vendors in producing high end parts.
“Overall, we have 100 vendors on the Alza project, of which 94 are local companies,” Asmat said.
What’s your view on this 1Malaysia F1 Team to join in 2010 championship? I feel like it’s a waste of money $ instead of promoting Malaysia. Can our own F1 team even finish the race or dropped out halfway? How long can we survive and sustain in this F1? Or can we actually make profit and benefit out of it? Even Alex Yoong, Malaysia very 1st F1 driver, also cannot survive long in F1 and join A1 instead. How many million or billion gonna spend in this F1 team? hmm…
Malaysia’s own F1 team
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will have its own team in Formula One next year.
A Lotus-powered racing team, to be called the 1Malaysia F1 team, will take on giants like Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes and Renault in the premier motorsports event next year.
The team will join Force India-Mercedes as Asia’s representatives in F1, along with old-timers like Toyota.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has accepted Malaysia’s bid to enter the 2010 and future Formula One World Championships, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced yesterday.
F1 foray: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak receiving a model of the Malaysian F1 car at the Finance Ministry in Putrajaya.
The 1Malaysia F1 team will be a partnership between the Govern-ment and the private sector, including investors led by Datuk Kamarudin Meranun (AirAsia Deputy CEO), Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes (AirAsia CEO) and SM Nasaruddin SM Nasimuddin (Naza Group CEO).
The Malaysian-owned team will also mark the return of Proton-owned Lotus, the prestigious constructors who left F1 in 1994.
Najib, who made the announcement at the Ministry of Finance yesterday, said the team would be based at the Sepang International Circuit, making it the first to be located outside Europe.
“This is where the cars will be designed, manufactured and tested. It will be ‘Made-in-Malaysia, by Malaysians’ and of course, the pit-stops will be run by Malay-sians,” he said.
“This is a meaningful development and I hope that it will further raise our country’s profile on the world stage.”
The team will have a Malaysian technical and pit crew, totalling some 200 people, to be managed by former Renault technical director Mike Gascoyne.
Najib added that the team hoped to announce its two drivers by Oct 31.
“Currently, six local and international drivers have been shortlisted for evaluation,” he said.
“Our F1 team will also have technical experts from outside Malaysia to ensure that we are ready to compete on the world’s most prestigious racing stage.”
Malaysia hosted its first F1 race in 1999 at the Sepang F1 Circuit and Alex Yoong was the first Malaysian to race in the championships in 2001 and 2002 for Minardi.
The Prime Minister had earlier launched the exchange programme between employees from the government and government-linked companies (GLCs) as part of the Government-GLCs Cross-Fertilisation Programme.
He handed letters-of-trust to 47 government and GLC staff taking part in the programme.
EYEBROWS were raised when news broke that Malaysia is participating in the Formula One (F1) race next year via the Lotus F1 team.
The team is a collaboration between the Government and a group of entrepreneurs linked to AirAsia Bhd and the Naza Group, with Proton Holdings Bhd’s British subsidiary, Lotus as the constructor.
Sceptics are many, especially since big names in the auto world such as Honda and BMW have withdrawn their participation from the sport due to the global economic crisis.
BMW Sauber Formula One crew pushing Nick Heidfeld’s race car past stacks of tyres at the Sepang International Circuit during the F1 race in April.
As the United States and countries across Europe and Asia are still trying to revive their economies, why would Malaysia choose this time to join one of the world’s most expensive sports? More importantly, who is forking out the money?
Let’s talk money
F1 is well known for its huge spending. The reported 2008 team budgets ranged from US$45mil to US$445mil (RM158mil to RM1.6bil) for sponsorship, supplier deals, prize money, team owner contributions, tyre provision and supply of customer engines.
In May, the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA), the ruling body of F1, decided to cap the budget for 2010 to £40mil (about RM228mil) in a bid to prevent more teams from dropping out and to encourage the entry of new contenders.
Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, the AirAsia Bhd boss and one of the investors in 1Malaysia F1 Team Sdn Bhd, which owns the Lotus F1 team, told CNN in a recent interview that the budget cap, coupled with the huge F1 following, made it “a good time to join F1”.
His co-investor, as well as partner in AirAsia, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun concurs, calling the venture “a commercially viable one”.
While Lotus F1’s budget remains sketchy for now, Kamarudin reveals that an initial investment of £10mil (RM57mil) has been made to start the construction of the vehicle. “We’re starting mid-way. So we need to be quick to get the approvals for the car,” he says.
While FIA’s capped budget covers team expenditure, it does not include marketing and hospitality, remuneration for test or race drivers, fines or penalties imposed by the FIA, and engine costs, which may come up to few hundred million ringgit more.
It also does not include the setting up of the new headquarters at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), for which 8,000ha to 12,000ha of land have been allocated.
An SIC official says the two- to three-year development cost for the state-of-the-art facilities for the new HQ could reach millions, or perhaps billions, of ringgit.
The funding of F1 teams is usually supported by sponsorship. Companies form tie-ups with the teams in various capacities for brand-building purposes.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, for example, took up a substantial sponsorship deal for Brawn GP in March this year (Virgin’s involvement, however, ends in November).
Fernandes is not new to such arrangements since his low-fare carrier has a three-year partnership with the AT&T Williams team as its official airline since 2007.
The Lotus F1 team, one suspects, will follow the same marketing trend of searching for potential corporate sponsors. Since its entry is supported by the Government as an opportunity to profile the 1Malaysia theme, government-linked companies are likely to be roped in.
F1 a nationalism symbol?
Talking about country profile, motor racing started out as a country-based competition and eventually evolved into a commercial sport involving independent teams and car manufacturers.
The existing F1 teams do not have specific country identity, with the exception of Force India, which used to be Spyker F1 team before it was sold to a private consortium comprising Indian millionaire Vijay Mallya and successful European e-businessman Michiel Mol in late 2007 for 88 million euros.
Force India’s main sponsor is Kingfisher, the flagship brand of Vijay’s beer and aviation businesses. His conglomerate, the UB Group, has annual sales of over US$4bil and a market capitalisation of US$12bil. Forbes puts Vijay’s net worth at US$1.2bil, one of the richest in India.
The team uses an Indian flag in its logo but the drivers are non-Indians – Adrian Sutil is from Germany and newly promoted driver, Vitantonio Liuzzi, is Italian. The team is solely driven by its private-entity owners and does not involve any Indian government initiative.
Similarly, India’s hosting of the F1 Grand Prix in 2011 is also an initiative driven by individuals. The project owner, JPSK Sports Private Ltd, owned by the Jaypee construction conglomerate, is funding the circuit construction costs.
The Malaysian entry, in contrast, has the Government’s backing, although the idea of Lotus F1 was mooted by both Fernandes and Kamarudin.
“There’s an opportunity to participate (due to the spot vacated by BMW Sauber) and so we went ahead to conceptualise the idea of our own team, roped in SM Nasaruddin SM Nasimuddin (executive chairman and chief executive officer of Naza Group) and Proton, and approached the Prime Minister for his blessing,” explains Kamarudin.
“The concept of 1Malaysia is not limited to people. My view is that it should be extended, to encompass the partnership of the private sector and the Government.”
Separately, Fernandes says the entry is “great for Malaysia” as it will further utilise its “hardware” at SIC while developing “the soft side – drivers, engineers, management”.
But what about risks?
As with any investment, there will be financial risks. In this case, the millions of ringgit that will be spent to set up the F1 team is at stake. Some argue that the huge investments are well worth the money because of the brand recognition gained internationally.
National oil company Petronas claims its annual cost of sponsoring F1 is less than 5% of what it would cost to gain similar exposure. Last year, its exposure via F1 was valued at about RM1bil.
But Petronas’ involvement is different as it does not run an F1 team. It supports BMW Sauber as its lubricant sponsor, and rightly so, since it’s in the oil business.
(It is uncertain if the national oil company’s sponsorship of BMW Sauber will continue since BMW has withdrawn from the team and Sauber does not have a firm entry for next year’s race.)
Aside from financials, there could also be the intangible risks. A poor performance may bring more detrimental publicity than the desired high profile.
Note that Malaysia’s first F1 driver, Alex Yoong, drove for the Australian-owned Minardi F1 team back in 2001 and 2002. Yoong only managed to finish five races out of the 11 in 2002, because of setbacks like engine, hydraulics and gear box problems.
Lotus technical director Mike Gascoyne is, nevertheless, confident of Lotus’ future performance. He told the British press recently that Lotus F1 was “a very substantial team.”
Gascoyne has over 20 years’ experience in the sport, having worked with Force India, Toyota, Renault and Jordan Formula One teams.
Still, it remains to be seen how Malaysians would feel, watching with millions of viewers worldwide, when Malaysia’s team finishes weakly, or perhaps not even completing races.
Lotus no newcomer to F1
The association of Lotus and F1 is not foreign. In fact, Lotus was a well-known participant in the glamorous sport in the 1960s. Between 1958 and 1994, the original Lotus team achieved 73 grand prix wins, 102 pole positions, six drivers’ world titles and seven constructors’ crowns from 489 starts, with illustrious names of the calibre of Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Sir Stirling Moss, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jochen Rindt, Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet and Mika Hakkinen in its roll call of drivers.
Its success track record is mainly linked to founder Colin Chapman, who remained passionate about the sport until his death in 1982. Lotus’ last F1 race was in 1994.
The Lotus company, meanwhile, had been struggling with financial difficulties and had different shareholders trying to revive its finances. Proton has been the major shareholder since 1996, but it has long been rumoured that it wants to divest its stake.
OSK Investment Bank, however, said Proton had no urgency to sell Lotus Cars as the subsidiary had returned to profitability since 2008 with net earnings of £1.5mil.
While the Government’s involvement in the Lotus F1 team is via Proton, analysts do not expect the national car company to offer financial support. Proton’s role in the F1 venture will mainly be as the coordinator for Lotus, says an analyst in a recent report.
After Honda and BMW have quit Formula One, and when the country is facing an economic recession, the government makes an announcement of forming the “One Malaysia F1 team”. It shows the spirit of “Malaysia Boleh” but from the commercial point of view, could such a huge investment bring the country any remuneration?
There are pros and cons to own a F1 team. The pros include enhancing the popularity of the country, Proton, Air Asia, Sepang International Circuit (SIC) and other sponsors, particularly Proton, in the international arena.
In fact, Lotus used to own a remarkable F1 team. It had won the annual championship for seven times since its first entry into the F1 race in 1958. By entering the race, Proton may master the latest technology and overcome the weaknesses of the engine, so as to open up more oversea markets.
“Is it a wise decision to join as even some famous automobile companies are unable to sustain?”
Once Proton gains a good reputation, it can sell a large number of licensed products. At the same time, the Malaysian team’s entry can stimulate F1 ticket sales, reversing SIC’s gloomy operation. Also, the team may share the total prize of US$500 million, as well as the TV rights revenue.
However, the formation of a team costs a lot. First of all, the new team must pay the The International Automobile Federation, commonly known as FIA, an entry bond of US$48 million. Also, Malaysia has to raise funds to build a production, design and technology development centre near the SIC.
Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak did not disclose the cost of setting up the team, it is estimated to cost at least US$100 million, including the salaries and business entertainment expenses of the drivers and the captain. For example, after Honda took over the whole racing team in 2006, it had to allocate up to US$500 million for its annual budged.
We are worrying about the Malaysian team’s ranking as the higher the points a team can accumulate, the higher the prize they get. If the Malaysian team is ranked at the bottom, it does not only have failed to gain popularity, but it may harm the brand. With Honda’s technology, it had been suffering a bleak record for eight years and in 2007, the team was ranked number nine with only 14 accumulated points. Meanwhile, BMW decided to quit F1 because of its poor performance this year.
F1 is a “money-burning” sport. Even it does bring certain economic benefits, its return has been reduced under the shadow of the global financial turmoil and the automobile industry downturn. Is it a wise decision to join as even some famous automobile companies are unable to sustain?
Compared to other racing teams, the Malaysian team possesses the advantage of the government’s support. But under the circumstances of deteriorating national budget deficit, would it be a wise investment?
What benefit has the country actually gained after spending US$130 million to build the circuit, hosting F1 races since 1999 and allowing Petronas to sponsor the BMW team for four years? It is better to show the people a clear account. The government should learn a lesson from previous failed investments in order to become a pragmatic investor. (By LIM SUE GOAN/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily)
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