Muhammad Khairul Bin Abd Halim from Setia Maju Jaya Logistik Sdn Bhd has managed to win the 3rd edition of the Malaysian UD Trucks Extra Mile Challenge 2018. His skillful driving during the finals have earned him a place at the UDEMC Global Final 2018 which will be held in October 2018 over in Japan.
(2nd from left) Champion of UDEMC Malaysia 2018, Muhammad Khairul Bin Abd Halim, Setia Maju Jaya Logistik Sdn Bhd, (From L-R) Jaclyn Loy, Chief Operating Officer, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd, Kenny Kuah Hong Hoe, Managing Director, Setia Maju Jaya Logistik Sdn Bhd and Eddy Chan, Sales and Marketing Director, UD Trucks Malaysia during the prize giving ceremony
The UD Trucks Extra Mile Challenge (UDEMC) is a friendly drivers competition aimed at increasing drivers’ competency through skills enhancement and knowledge on maximizing the capability of a UD Quester heavy-duty truck. Here in Malaysia, the competition is jointly organized by UD Trucks and its sole distributor partner in Malaysia, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd (TCIE).
This is the third time the Malaysian edition of the competition was held since it was first introduced in 2016. The competition is also the first of its kind to be organized by a Japanese truck brand in Malaysia as we usually hear the European truck makers holding such competitions. This must be because UD Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, and technical know how as well as best practices have trickled down to all of its subsidiaries.
Filip Van den Heede, Managing Director Hub Malaysia, UD Trucks said,“Truck drivers are the backbone of the economy as they journey across the nation to deliver goods. Now, with the help of smart logistics where innovative features and capabilities can be found in the UD Quester, drivers and companies are able to utilize these to plan, manage and perform their deliveries in more efficient, productive and cost-effective manner. At UD Trucks, we are motivated to continue our rich legacy of building the ‘truck that the world needs today’ and upholding our brand promise of ‘going the extra mile’ to provide optimum support to our clients, including aftersales.”
“UDEMC is not only about driving skills, it is a valuable platform which provides support for the drivers to better understand safe driving, fuel efficiency, and how to maximize truck uptime to reduce unnecessary operational cost. Thus, we hope that through UDEMC, both our customers and their drivers will benefit greatly with the experience and learnings from this annual drivers’ competition.” he added.
Jaclyn Loy, Chief Operating Officer, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd also had this to say about the driver's competition and its expansion to the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, “UDEMC is indeed a one-of-its-kind competition that not only benefits the truck drivers but also the company they work for. We received many encouraging and enthusiastic feedback from our customers who understand the value of the competition thus, this motivated us to expand the scale of this year’s competition to the East Coast region.
“As a long-time partner of UD Trucks in Malaysia, we share the same sentiment in making UDEMC a key platform in the industry that educates drives, fleet managers, customers and other stakeholders on the importance of good driving etiquettes. On our quest in doing so, UD Trucks and TCIE are on a mission to find and recognize the very best drivers on the road - we call them the ULTIMATE DRIVERS. That is why, the UD Extra Mile Challenge was created,” Jaclyn continued.
This year's search for the ultimate UD truck driver started last July. 10 UD Quester truck drivers managed to qualify and they came together at the final round of the competition which was held in Tan Chong Industrial Equipment’s showroom in Ipoh, Perak recently. These 10 finalists then had to take part in a one-day event where they were given briefing on safety and competition route tour.
UDEMC Global 2016 champion, Yuzairi bin Ibrahim from ASAC Logistics Sdn Bhd (yes, a Malaysian won in 2016) and UDEMC Global 2017 – Best Pre-Drive Inspection winner, Anuar bin Ahmad from Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd, were present as UDEMC Malaysia ambassadors, to share their experience and important tips with all the finalists. The 10 finalists were then separated into groups where they were assessed based on the overall best score for the Champion of UDEMC Malaysia 2018, Best Pre-Drive Inspection, Best Fuel Consumption and Best Driving Skill.
Muhammad Khairul Bin Abd Halim from Setia Maju Jaya Logistik Sdn Bhd was announced the champion of this year’s competition and will be representing Malaysia in an all-expense paid trip to Japan for the UDEMC Global Final 2018 in October 2018. His company also received something from his win. Setia Maju Jaya Logistik, was handed a UD Quester Parts voucher worth RM2,000 and an exclusive driver training session for all the drivers from Setia Maju Jaya Logistik.
Besides the grand prize, Muhammad Khairul also won the Best Pre-Drive Inspection category for the second year in a row - second time in terms trying to win the overall competition but second time a winner in this competition - a record of sorts.
“I have been driving the UD Quester for 3 years and it is such an exceptional truck from all aspects. Last year, I participated in the challenge and was one of the 10 finalists in the competition and I won the Best Pre-Drive Inspection category. My employer and friends encouraged me to participate again in this year’s UDEMC, which I did and never in my wildest dreams that winning it crossed my mine! This competition has taught me a lot, especially the insights and experience shared by past winners Yuzairi and Anuar. I will definitely bring what I’ve learned today to go the extra mile in the UDEMC Global Finals Japan so that I can bring the trophy home!” said Muhammad Khairul.
Aside from the top prizes, the Best Fuel Consumption award went to Mohd Shaiful Bin Jahaya from Gabung Jaya Sdn Bhd and Abdul Rahim Bin Yahaya from ASAC Logistics Sdn Bhd won the Best Driving Skill award; all three category winners walked away with Quester Parts voucher worth RM500.
(L-R) Abdul Rahim Bin Yahaya, ASAC Logistics Sdn Bhd, winner of the Best Driving Skill category, Muhammad Khairul Bin Abd Halim, Setia Maju Jaya Logistik Sdn Bhd, champion of UDEMC Malaysia 2018 and also won the Best Pre-Drive Inspection category, Mohd Shaiful Bin Jahaya, Gabung Jaya Sdn Bhd, winner of the Best Fuel Consumption category
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