BAU, May 12 — A group of 4X4 safety advocates from several Asean-member nations have banded together to promote greater awareness of the need for proper training and responsible practices.

The 17 veterans, who have a combined total of over 550 years’ experience in operating four-wheel-drive vehicles all over the world, have resolved to found a confederation of qualified trainers across South-east Asia.

"Our mission is to promote safe and responsible driving practices and raise awareness of the risks associated with driving four-wheel-drive vehicles off the road.

"We seek to achieve this by creating a community of like-minded individuals and organisations who share our commitment to safety and responsible driving,” the newly-minted Confederation of South East Asia 4x4 Safety Trainers (or SEAsafe4x4) announced in a joint declaration.

The signatories comprise safety advocates from Sarawak, Sabah, Peninsular Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, who attended a forum at Kampung Barieng in Singai, Bau, for the opening of Sarawak 4X4 Training Academy (Sar4Trac) today.

Sarawak’s first permanent off-road safety training centre was officially opened by state Deputy Minister of Transport II Datuk Henry Harry Jinep, who is also Tasik Biru assemblyman.

"We are reaching out to our counterparts in neighbouring countries who could not be with us today, including our friends in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc,” said forum host and Sar4Trac director Paul Si Poh Lim, 61.

"Our goal is to advocate for official recognition of systematic training and national policies in each of our countries, with the common aim of promoting safe driving practices in the use of four-wheel-drive vehicles.

"We also emphasise awareness of the need to preserve nature and protect the environment in all of our activities,” said Si, who is a professional 4X4 instructor certified by the UK’s Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA).

Automobile Association Philippines representative Roberto Consunji said the confederation would help its members to share collective expertise and experience in streamlining efforts to raise safety standards across the region.

"Training is a vital part of vehicle safety, and we recognise that such training is now being carried out in an ad hoc manner in our countries,” said Consunji, 63, a Manila-based lawyer and long-time president of the Land Rover Club of the Philippines.

"We intend to jointly develop standards so that drivers across South-east Asia will have access to quality training,” he added.

Indonesia Offroad Federation founder Harry Sanusi, who singlehandedly contributed 51 years of experience to the group’s pool, said the idea had been discussed for decades.

"For many years, whenever 4X4 enthusiasts met up, we talked about doing this to improve safety standards,” said the veteran, widely known in the off-road community as Pak Harry. "We are happy to be making progress at last.”

Jakarta-based Reza Hariputra, a certified trainer and 4X4 instructor who is also Pak Harry’s son, also shared his experience of training drivers in various industries across Indonesia over the past 20 years.

"We started in an informal way, sharing what knowledge we had learned through trial and error but over the years, it became clear that we needed to raise standards and professionalism,” said Reza.

Other well-known 4X4 personalities who inked their support included Brunei 4X4 Association president Haji Ibrahim Awang Damit, Ron Wong from Singapore, Datuk Dr Teoh Siang Chin, former Petronas Adventure Team technical director Stiven Sim, media veteran Yamin Vong, M4Trec lead instructor Derek Low, Sabah’s Anuar Ghani and Alvin Leong, Sar4Trac director Chai Yew Foo.