Sarawak 4X4 Training Academy, styled as Sar4Trac, is the first permanent off-the-road driving and safety training provider in Sarawak.
Founders and lead instructors Paul Si Poh Lim and Chai Yew Foo had been involved actively and passionately in 4X4 activities over a combined total of over half a century by the time they partnered to establish 4X4 Quest Sdn Bhd in 2014.
Apart from learning through experience, and trial and error, like everyone else in the past, both had also attended various informal but relevant training courses over the years.
They began conducting 4X4 driver training in 2014 at the request of Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia, with several sessions for Sarawak Energy Berhad employees. More sessions and more clients soon followed as information spread by word of mouth.
Recognising the need for constant improvement and to upgrade professionalism, Si and Foo attended further training in the United Kingdom, attaining certification as Professional 4X4 Instructors and Winch Instructors from the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents. Si also attained Certified Train The Trainer qualification from the Human Resource Development Corporation, Malaysia, in February 2023.
Efforts are under way at Sar4Trac to train up the next generation of Sarawakian 4X4 instructors to similar standards.
Sar4Trac has a permanent building that functions as a lecture and demonstration facility, and right alongside is an obstacle course for basic practical exercises, and real-world off-road trails just minutes away.
While basic training should ideally be conducted in the controlled, purpose-built environment of the academy, Sar4Trac would be happy to work with potential clients who require training at other sites of their choosing, although this will obviously incur extra costs.
Sar4Trac can handle batches of 10 to 20 trainees at a time, and can develop customised programmes tailored to clients’ specific needs.
Since SAFETY is foremost on Sar4Trac’s objectives, we will undertake to have first-aid and rescue measures in place for each course.
Background
4X4s have been used for decades in areas where there are no roads or poor roads. Regular users include the military, police, plantation, timber, rural communities. It continues today in remote settlements.
There were no formal training programmes available, so most people learned through doing, through trial and error. Those who survive will eventually know what to do, when and how, if not quite WHY.
In past 30 years, recreational use of 4X4s grew in popularity. Again, newcomers learned through experience, ad hoc tips, trial and error. There was no formal assessment of efficacy of such learning.
In the absence of legal oversight and regulation, there had been little demand for training. When such demand arises, it is fulfilled on ad hoc basis. “Do you know anyone who can train our drivers?” Referrals based on personal relationship, experience, anecdotal references. ANYONE could claim to be a 4X4 trainer, no one could dispute or refute or challenge anyone else’s credential because no one has any.
Certified instructors began only in last couple of years, and have to rely on certification from foreign countries such as UK and Australia, which have up-to-date laws and work practices, as well as historical and traditional ties with our country. To date, there has been only a handful of such certified instructors in the country.