Lee Lam Thye calls review of hiking SOPs

Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye has called for Malaysia to review and strengthen safety procedures for hiking, trekking and hill-climbing after a run of incidents involving missing, injured and dead hikers. Lee, chairman of the Alliance for a Safe Community, said in a statement carried on May 29 by Bernama and republished on June 1 and June 2 by local outlets that recent cases had again exposed risks on remote and challenging trails. He said the aim was not to discourage outdoor activity but to make it safer and more accountable. He urged authorities to tighten preventive measures as well as rescue response arrangements nationwide. ### What exactly is Lee Lam Thye asking the authorities to review? Lee said the review should cover standard operating procedures for hiking, trekking and hill-climbing, with a focus on both prevention and emergency response. He said authorities should consider mandatory registration of hikers before they enter forest, hill and mountain trails, along with stronger monitoring systems to detect when people fail to return as scheduled. (bernama.com) Bernama reported that Lee also proposed digital check-in and check-out systems and stricter requirements for licensed mountain guides on difficult or high-risk routes. He said those measures could help authorities respond faster and reduce preventable incidents. ### Which recent incidents appear to have prompted the call? Hulu Selangor was the site of one of the most prominent recent cases. (bernama.com) A 19-year-old hiker, Nur Izzati Humaira Azizul, who went missing while hiking at Bukit Changkat Asa on May 23, was found dead on May 26 after a four-day search, according to Bernama reports carried by The Star, New Straits Times and other Malaysian outlets. Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant operations director Ahmad Mukhlis Mukhtar said the body was found off the hiking trail. Ipoh was the center of another case highlighted in late May. The Star reported on May 28 that rescuers had resumed a search for a 49-year-old woman who went missing while climbing Gunung Batu Putih on May 23, describing the episode as part of a spate of recent hiking incidents. ### Why did Lee focus on search-and-rescue operations? (thestar.com.my) Lee said missing-hiker operations consume substantial manpower and resources from the Fire and Rescue Department, the Royal Malaysia Police, the Forestry Department, the Civil Defence Force, mountain guides, volunteers and local communities. He said those missions can run for days and can also expose rescuers to risk. (thestar.com.my) The Bernama report said Lee framed the issue as a public-safety problem rather than only a recreation issue. He said every preventable tragedy should be treated as a lesson for all stakeholders. ### What does this tell us about how trail safety is handled now? Malaysia’s recent responses show that trail emergencies are often handled through multi-agency deployments rather than a single centralized trail-safety system, according to the cited rescue reports. (bernama.com) In the Bukit Changkat Asa case, fire and rescue officials led a search that involved several days of operations before the victim was found. That pattern appears to underpin Lee’s push for better registration, monitoring and route controls before hikers enter difficult terrain. This is an inference drawn from the rescue coverage and Lee’s proposals. ### What happens next? The immediate next step is whether Malaysian authorities or state-level land and forestry agencies respond publicly to Lee’s proposals on registration, digital tracking and guide requirements. As of June 2, the call had been published by Bernama, The Star, New Straits Times, Malay Mail and Free Malaysia Today, giving it broad circulation in the local press. (bernama.com) (nst.com.my)