My Journey As A Hunt Master...

By M. Govind Nair

I must say that I was more or less ‘lured’ into the world of treasure hunts in 1988, thanks to the late Encik Halim Abdul Rahman who was then the accountant at BERNAMA.

Encik Halim, a 4x4 enthusiast, helped organise BERNAMA’s first treasure hunt – from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan.

Encik Halim left BERNAMA soon after and I took over the task of organising the BERNAMA-Tourism Malaysia treasure hunts, along with Encik Sobrey Jaafar who was with Corporate Communications. Now, I have an able assistant in Mr K.Bhaskaran.

The BERNAMA hunts were organised to almost every major city or beach resort in the country, including the islands of Pangkor and Langkawi.

I also began setting hunts for other organisations upon request. These organisations included banks, GLCs, private companies and associations.

Over the years, the setting of treasure hunts has become as difficult as the finding of answers by the participants.

The clues or questions themselves have evolved over the years from the straightforward to the tricky, confusing and mind-boggling with the use of anagrams, photographs and illustrations as well.

On a number of occasions, I have had to participate in some hunts to learn the different types of clues set by other hunt masters who had been in the business way before I came into the picture.

The first thing in setting a hunt is to understand what the client wants to highlight or focus on, for example heritage or nature.

Then you need to know the starting point and the finish point or destination. You also have to identify the places in between that need to be highlighted.

Once the route, as we call it, has been worked out, the first recce is done along that route to determine the volume of traffic, the signboards available for clues to be given, and the places where pit stops can be made. 

On the second recce, the possible answers are jotted down. Some of the clues will come to mind immediately upon seeing the answers. Others will have to be worked out leisurely.

The sectors identified as the places where the answers can be found are usually along roads which are not too busy or where the road is wide enough for a car to slow down or stop by the roadside.

It is prohibited to have clues set on highways. The Road Safety Council, from which approval must be sought to organise a hunt, strictly prohibits use of highways and busy roads for treasure hunts.

The clues have to be set so that they are tougher to crack because the participants or hunters are able to guess or ‘read’ the mind of the hunt master or COC (clerk-of-course). 

The hunters’ level of deciphering the clues has developed in tandem with the hunt masters’ prowess at setting them.

In the old days, a clue could just be, for example, … how many balloons can you spot on the signboard promoting such-and-such a carnival. If you spot the signboard, you can get the answer.

Nowadays, a clue may be, for example, … profit is discernible after manipulation. The answer is BALA OPTICAL. When BALA is manipulated, one gets LABA (PROFIT). It is discernible (seen) after the letters are switched (manipulated). Discernible also refers to OPTICAL (sight, seen, discernible). 

One clue went as follows: A marathon in town. The answer was on a road signboard – Pekan 42 km.

Another clue: Arrange to count with us in an old way.

Answer: BACA @ The Reading Room.

Arrange indicates that you have to juggle some letters. ‘With us’ means you have to use the word ‘us’.

BACA juggled and added to US will give ABACUS. Count … in an old way refers to abacus.

Hunters have to think out of the box and not in the usual way. 

I usually handle two or three hunts in a year, all of which are done upon request by the client. I have never solicited for hunts. 

Some years back, a drinks manufacturer went on a promotion and I was asked to organise five hunts in several places around the country, one of which took hunters to Genting Highlands where they had to take some of the rides, including a roller coaster, to find answers to some clues.

What makes me going? Setting hunts is something very different from the work that I do as a sub-editor. It allows me to stretch my mental capacity to come up with clues that pose a challenge for the hunters which, ironically, is what they like or prefer. It also provides me the opportunity to travel around the country, often visiting places off the beaten track.

One place that I had to visit when setting the All-Ladies Treasure Hunt organised by Benita Bernama in July 2017 was the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre in Pahang.

I had always wanted to visit the centre but never found the time to go there. While setting the hunt for Benita Bernama, I had to visit the centre at least thrice. I must say that I grew fond of one of the baby elephants there. It liked to see me, too, I think!

In the old days, all hunters will have their cars tested to determine roadworthiness and they themselves will be asked some questions on road safety and traffic regulations.

I was testing one of the hunters during a BERNAMA hunt and he answered very quickly all the questions pertaining to traffic regulations. I congratulated him for his success, and after that he told me that he was a JPJ officer!

Hunters know the importance of time management and the pace they have to set to complete a hunt on time and by answering as many clues as possible.

They sleep well the night before a hunt and go easy on breakfast to prevent any upset stomach during the hunt.

First-timers will get excited once they find the answer to a clue. However, once they compete in a hunt, they will get hooked to treasure-hunting. Soon after the hunt, they will be asking where and when the next one is.

Treasure-hunting is here to stay. So long as there are people who yearn for a challenge, especially mentally, treasure hunts will get their participants and COCs will be kept busy creating the clues.