SHAH ALAM - Hakim Danish Ramli’s historic maiden Moto3 podium finish at the Italian Grand Prix has sparked not only nationwide celebrations but also renewed scrutiny of the Youth and Sports Ministry.
Many motorsport fans accused the ministry of attempting to take credit for the teenager’s success despite earlier confirming that it had not provided direct funding for his 2025 Moto3 campaign.
The 18-year-old rider produced a remarkable performance at the Mugello Circuit on Sunday, finishing third in the Moto3 race and ending Malaysia’s 10-year wait for a podium finish in the Motorcycle World Championship.
Riding for the AEON Credit-MSI team, Hakim crossed the line in 33 minutes and 8.257 seconds, behind race winner Brian Uriarte and runner-up Alvaro Carpe.
The achievement marked a major milestone for Malaysian motorsport. The last Malaysian rider to stand on the world championship podium was Khairul Idham Pawi at the German Grand Prix in 2016.
However, celebrations soon gave way to controversy after the Youth and Sports Ministry posted a congratulatory message on its social media platforms following Hakim’s success.
The post reportedly attracted a wave of criticism from netizens, many of whom pointed to the ministry’s earlier confirmation that no direct financial allocation had been provided for Hakim’s Moto3 campaign this year.
According to reports, the post was later removed following the backlash.
The criticism stemmed largely from remarks made by Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Mordi Bimol on March 4, when he confirmed that no direct allocation had been channelled to ZK Racing Team for Hakim’s Moto3 campaign.
“We do not have any allocation at the moment. We cannot depend solely on government funding because everyone knows that costs in motorsports are extremely high.
“Therefore, we need strategic cooperation from all parties,” he said during the announcement of a collaboration between AEON Credit Service and MSI Racing Team.
Despite the absence of direct funding, Mordi noted that the ministry had allocated RM3 million under the High-Performance MDEV Programme 2025 to develop motorsport talent, as well as RM1 million through the National Sports Trust Fund (KWASN) to support Hakim’s participation in the 2025 FIM JuniorGP World Championship.
At the time, ZK Racing Team manager Zulfahmi Khairuddin defended the ministry, arguing that it would be unfair to suggest that Malaysian motorsport had not received government support.
“That question should be directed to SIC because I do not deal directly with the Sports Ministry regarding funding allocations. I only submit reports through SIC and I believe SIC is working hard to place motorsports within KBS’s focus.
“I believe the support is there. Since the first year we developed this programme, KBS has always been with us. It would not be fair to say that the ministry does not support us because riders like Danish and Qabil Irfan are national assets.
“All our riders are champions. Hakim and Qabil were among the top three in the world in the Red Bull Rookies Cup last year. I believe the ministry needs to look at this more closely because talented riders like these are not easy to find; perhaps they emerge only once every 10 years,” he said.
The debate intensified following Hakim’s podium finish, with many fans arguing that the achievement was driven largely by private-sector backing rather than government support.
Several social media users voiced their frustration.
Threads user @faiiz_azmann wrote: “Even without the Sports Ministry, Hakim managed to deliver good results. Only after good results, the ministry wants to claim as if they played a part in the victory, no shame at all.”
Another user, @luqmanhaniiff, commented: “They are number one when it comes to claiming credit.”
User @amxl.heart added: “Even worse, they had the audacity to include the Madani government’s logo in the posting. Do not involve politics in sports.”
Meanwhile, @f41z3ry wrote: “Good job Sports Ministry, I knew they would ‘claim’ the credit. But they did not do a ‘clean’ job. They thought netizens could not dig up information about the lack of funding for Hakim. But when he won, suddenly they were quick to claim the victory.”
Amid the controversy, Hakim remained focused on his achievement and reflected on the challenges he faced throughout the weekend.
The Terengganu-born rider said the race was fiercely contested from start to finish.
“I knew that one small mistake could change everything. Even though I dropped back slightly on the final lap, I never gave up.
“I just tried to stay calm and look for opportunities to overtake the riders ahead one by one. Alhamdulillah, that strategy paid off and helped me secure a podium finish,” he said.
His achievement was made even more impressive by the fact that he crashed twice during Friday’s practice sessions and had to progress through Qualifying 1 before setting the second-fastest lap in Qualifying 2 to secure a front-row start.
Hakim originally qualified second but was promoted to pole position after David Almansa was ruled out due to tonsillitis.
The rookie currently sits 11th in the Moto3 world championship standings with 43 points and has earned widespread praise for his consistency during his debut full season at world championship level.
While the debate over government support continues, many observers believe Hakim’s breakthrough podium finish has once again highlighted the growing potential of Malaysian motorsport and underscored the need for sustained backing to help talented riders compete at the highest level.