The Malaysian government will hold legal street races to counter the growing number of illegal motorcycle racing. The government will close down the capital city, Kuala Lumpur once a week so that young riders can road race legally.
Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor made the announcement earlier this week. He said that a large number of Malaysian motorcycle and scooter riders had turned to racing illegally because it offered cheap thrills – and because so many were getting hurt the government decided to step in, in a positive way.
“We will control the situation because we realise that this is an entertainment for them. They have no other way to entertain themselves because of the high costs.”
He also said that the government previously organised races in enclosed tracks but the public response was not favourable, which was why many returned to racing illegally in the streets.
The Minister also said that the government is considering closing down the the city roads for one night a week and setting that aside for motorcycle racing.
“Probably in one week, one or two days, we will give it like the car-free day but only for them to race at night. We don’t want illegal racing but we want them to race in a specific place. If they want to race, it’s okay but we give them a place where we can control with safety barriers and all.”
The Federal Territories Minister also said that he has discussed the proposal with Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz and that he would liaise with relevant parties in the government to come up with a programme.
“We will provide a suitable place and probably we will organise fiesta, we call food trucks selling food and other things to help them so that they will not have illegal racing. It’s not encouraging, but you see, we want to see what the people like.”
This is an incredible decision from the Malaysian authorities. They would possibly receive a lot of flak for making street racing legal. Something which the riders would have been punished for, would now be organised properly where they will participate legally.
Would something like this reduce the incidents of street racing? On the one hand, it would ensure that those who were indulging in illegal street races will now have an organised platform where they can pit their skills. So they won’t have to ride recklessly in traffic, since the roads would be closed to regular traffic and open only for them.
On the other hand, you will have more youngsters who will be inspired to take up racing on the streets, seeing so many others doing so. Would this actually increase the number of people racing on the street in traffic as well?
There are no easy answers to this and we wait and see how this different approach works out in Malaysia. Would it be successful in taming the menace of street racing or would it only bolster the enthusiasm of illegal street racers?
What would be the outcome if something similar was tried as a pilot project in India?
