KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian rally racing king, Karamjit Singh, is a legend.
He was the first and only Malaysian become a World Rally Champion when he won the 2002 World Production Car Championship in a Proton.
It is also the only time Proton won a world championship beating more popular marques like Toyota, Ford and Subaru.
After all this, does he still need to race at the age of 59? Many believe he needs to call it a day in racing and concentrate on developing upcoming drivers for the future of Malaysian motorsports.
We contacted several motorsport personalities to find out what they think and a source who is close to the motoring fraternity said that Karamjit should start helping young drivers who need to break into rallying, rather than racing and looking for sponsors for himself.
“Karamjit is 59-years-old and I think it is time for him to retire. Rally racing is not like those days as sponsors shy away from contributing to the sport.
“He does not have anything to prove anymore and he should start contributing to the sport in a different way.”
“He should ask the government to help him set up a school to train rally drivers. In short, he should help to identify the next ‘Karamjit Singh’ and not carry the burden to make the country proud all by himself,” said the source.
It is understood that sponsors are reluctant to inject cash into sports, citing the pandemic. The source gave an example of how sponsors are shunning away from football.
“If our mainstream sports can suffer like this, I don't think motorsports stands a chance.
“We are currently going through a global health crisis. In a time where companies are fighting hard to survive and help its employees, sponsoring for motorsport is a luxury.
“I hope that the government will take care of the needy first during these challenging times,” said the source.
At the same time, the source agreed that Karamjit, the 2002 National Sportsman of the year, should get what he was promised by the sports ministry years ago because he has contributed to the racing world and made Malaysia proud during the time.
“He should get what he was supposed to get. For example, the RM5,000 monthly pension, which was verbally promised. He was a world champion and made the Proton brand known worldwide, so he should be rewarded for it.
“Karamjit has inspired many in the racing field and should be treated with respect,” the source added.
However, it remains to be seen if the current Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican is ready to right the wrong of his predecessors and provide Karamjit with what was promised by his ministry more than a decade ago.
In 2005, Karamjit, fondly known as ‘Flying Sikh’ to Malaysians, was promised a pension of RM5,000 by the ministry, which was then headed by Datuk Azalina Othman.
However, after 15 years, Karamjit is still waiting for his pension.
He revealed to The Vibes that even after several follow-ups with the ministry, nothing happened but hoped that Reezal would finally be able to help him this time around with the pension that was promised and at the same time assist him with sponsorship for next year's Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).
He said that Reezal had verbally agreed to help him get sponsors in order for him to race in the APRC next year.
“I really appreciate that the minister came forward to help me. He asked me to submit the relevant documents,” said Karamjit.
It was understood that Karamjit had not raced in the last two years. Prior to that, Karamjit had used up his life savings to sponsor his races, at the same time selling some of his classic cars.
“I keep fit because of my eagerness to race. For me, racing for the country is everything and I would like to continue carrying the Malaysia flag onto the international stage once again.
“The sad part is that I have been forgotten and it is difficult for me to get sponsors for myself although I have been world champion,” he said.
On the speculation that his current employers VX Garage are not paying him, he said.
“As part of the management, we decided to take a 50% pay cut to help ride out this pandemic whilst ensuring that other staff have their full salaries.”
Karamjit added that he wants to bring back the glory days of rally racing back to Malaysia and give hope to young drivers who are eager to get into rallying by teaching, guiding and mentoring them.
The former 2002 World Production Car champion made headlines a few days ago when he posted on social media that he had to sell his favourite Proton Waja in order to buy a new Proton Saga as he wanted to become an e-hailing driver. – The Vibes, December 12, 2020
