Motorcycle drag racer dies in local racing mishap

A motorcycle drag racer lost control of his bike during a run and lost his life during an event held over the 2-3 September 2023 weekend in Pekan, Pahang. Following that, the Sports Ministry has confirmed that the Malaysia Drag Bikes National ET Record Championship (Round 3) event was unsanctioned.

22-year old Hattem Rashdi was riding for the ESR Motor team during the time trial session when he suffered a technical issue with the bike before crashing, said team principal Adib Affandi Mohamad.

He was rushed to Pekan Hospital for immediate treatment before being to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan, Pahang. He fought a 12-hour battle for his life before succumbing to his injuries at the hospital. He was buried in his hometown of Alor Janggus, Kedah.

The secretary-general of the Sports Ministry, Dr. K. Nagulendran, expressed regret and sympathy for the incident, going on to confirm the status of the event.

“After some checks, we found that this event was not sanctioned by the Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) and was not a programme supported by the Sports Ministry," he said.

“We regret that this incident happened and feel that the event organisers should be (more) responsible. We will be following up with MAM on this issue. I do not think it is right to hold events without proper sanctioning and safety precautions, as the Sports Ministry has always placed an emphasis on conducting sports activities in a safe manner,” he added.

“We hope that all associations or clubs will obtain sanctioning from their respective NSAs (national sports associations) and also register and obtain permission from the Sports Commissioner’s Office before organising events,” he concluded.

However, contradicting the sports ministry’s comment was a statement released by the organiser, MUSC Motorsports, on its Facebook page. In the statement, the organiser shouldered full responsibility for the incident but clarified that under new guidelines by MAM, local sporting events didn’t require the approval of the sports commissioner.

Furthermore, the organiser added that motorsports training programmes, such as this event, didn’t require sanctioning by MAM as well.

The guidelines issued by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to organise an event such as this is as below:

• Acquiring the permission of local authorities
• Acquiring the permission of the venue owner
• Acquiring insurance coverage for participants

This marks the third fatality in the country involving an unsanctioned motorsport event over the last year.

The first occurred during the Battle of The King (BOTK) 2022 event at the Terengganu Motorsports Circuit in Gong Badak. Muhamad Hafez Jamal Jamaludin lost his life after his Mitsubishi Evo IX crashed into a tree. BOTK was algo organised by MUSC Motorsports.

Just a few months later, a spectator was killed during the CCT Battle of Champions race when a participant’s car went off track and hit him. This happened at the Dato’ Sagor Circuit in Pasir Salak, Perak.