Former youth and sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin has brushed aside Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement that he hoped to see Malaysia host the Formula One (F1) motor racing championship again.
"The cost of organising F1 is more than RM200 million a year. Almost all of it is borne by the government.
"You say there is no money, and must be prudent. Allowances for national athletes are cut, sports science staff contracts are not renewed.
"Yet you still fancy having that F1 again. So, no to the F1," Khairy tweeted today.
Mahathir had expressed his desire to see Malaysia host the race again someday after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Petronas SIC Motorsports Association of Malaysia Awards 2018.
Malaysia stopped hosting the F1 championship last year. The decision was made by the previous BN government due to high costs and declining returns.
Khairy's successor, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, had said last year that the Pakatan Harapan government would not reverse the decision to stop hosting the race, also because of the costs involved.
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