There are 234 climbing locations within 4.8 million hectares of permanent forest reserve within Peninsular Malaysia. — Courtesy photos and IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
Trained mountain guides act as first responders as well as the eyes and ears of Forestry Department
Initially met with scepticism, the move to regulate mountain guides in Peninsular Malaysia is now valued and appreciated by the hiking community.
Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department (JPSM) had announced that the services of a mountain guide (malim gunung) would be required for climbing activities in its forest reserves and eco parks from January 2023.
Since then, the department has registered 1,887 mountain guides, with hikers seeing their services as essential for safety.
Additional costs and limits on the number of hikers a mountain guide could take were among initial points of contention, said Chuck Tuan Yau, who is a certified JPSM mountain guide from negri Sembilan.
Chuck says the training programme is systematic and comprehensive.
He added that when JPSM started its training programme for mountain guides, many unqualified hikers signed up as the sessions were free and there were sponsored gifts from hiking gear companies.
Since then, he said, training had become more systematic and comprehensive with involvement of the Fire and Rescue Department.
According to Chuck, starting with the third batch for this year, new JPSM registered mountain guides would need to go through a three-month probation.
During this period, they would need to follow a senior guide for three climbs.
“Currently, screening and filtering are also being carried out by JPSM to remove guides who are inactive,” he said.
Leng says more mountain guides are taking up the profession full time.
Leng Heong Wai, who received her licence from JPSM a year ago, also said there was resistance at the start but the majority of groups had no complaints now because they saw value in the guiding service.
Leng, who has 18 years of experience as a hiking leader, said the registration of mountain guides by JPSM was a positive move as demand grew for their services.
“Many mountain guides are now taking up this profession full time.
“This programme will hopefully help the profession advance and meet demand from tourists, especially during Visit Malaysia 2026,” said Leng.
A reliable buddy
Pilates instructor Tang See Yoon had only good things to say about the seven mountain guides who successfully guided her group last October up Mount Irau in Cameron Highlands, on the border of Pahang and Perak.
She and her friend were in a group of 45.
Battling exhaustion during the descent with another friend, she said constant encouragement from guide Zulhilmi Diron kept the duo going as he regaled them with tales of search and rescue missions.
Tang (centre) says she is grateful to Zulhilmi (right) for his constant encouragement during her group climb up Mount Irau in Cameron Highlands.
“The guides were friendly and fun. We got to know that two were firefighters who had taken up mountain guiding part time.
“We developed a sort of comradeship,” said Tang, adding that the services of mountain guides were a must, especially for trails in dense jungle with no mobile network.
More than 851 cases of lost and missing hikers were reported between 2018 and 2021.
Safeguards for both parties
Registered mountain guide Afif Che Embi said cases of hikers getting lost could be prevented if there was an experienced guide accompanying them.
He said first-time hikers could be easily fooled by paths that were made by animals or individuals who gathered forest products.
“By the time these hikers realise that they had veered away from their original course, they may be deep in a dense jungle.
“When they try to turn back, the path may no longer be as clear as it had seemed,” said Afif, who has been guiding hikers for nearly 30 years.
With the regulations, Afif said mountain guides who abandoned their clients midhike could be easily identified.
“Likewise, mountain guides who have been mistreated by their clients can also report this as information on both parties would have been recorded,” said Afif.
Afif, who is holding his JPSM card here, says cases of hikers getting lost would be greatly reduced with experienced guides.
Corporate outdoor consultant Muzafar Mohamad said before the introduction of the mountain guide policy, almost anyone was allowed to take groups of climbers into permanent forest reserves.
“The policy by JPSM has to some extent regulated climbing activities in a more systematic way,” said Muzafar, former president of Mountain Search and Rescue Society (Mosars) from 2017 to 2022.
To ensure continued success of the programme, Muzafar hoped that skills tests and refresher courses would be carried out periodically by JPSM to ensure mountain guides remained fit and ready for the job.
Mitigating risks
JPSM Forest Eco-Park and State Park Forest Division director Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop said there were more than 234 climbing locations within 4.8 million hectares of permanent forest reserves.
“From 2018 to 2021, more than 851 cases of lost and missing persons were reported.”
Mohd Yussainy: Some 5,000 people apply to be guides each year but many are not able to fulfil physical fitness requirements.
He said in general, climbing activities beyond 457.2m would require the services of a registered mountain guide.
In Selangor, however, their services are only needed for climbs above 600m.
Registered mountain guides are identified by a card issued by JPSM containing the individual’s full name, MyKad number and state of origin.
Mountain guides are only permitted to operate in their own state and the card is valid for two years.
“Once the validity expires they will have to send in a renewal application to JPSM.
“The person must have an active record, which is a minimum of five guiding trips a year with no disciplinary issues, hiker injuries, forestry violations, criminal charges or drug use.
“The guide must also have attended advanced courses organised by JPSM.
“The renewals will be handled by my office,” said Mohd Yussainy.
The services of a registered mountain guide as well as permits can be obtained at Forestry Department offices in their respective states.
Charges are RM250 to RM300 per guide depending on the duration and distance of the climb.
“So as not to confuse the public, these charges are for seven hikers to one mountain guide, following the ratio that JPSM has set,” he said.
Hikers who fail to comply will not have their permits approved.
In the event of illegal entry into permanent forest reserves, any accident or physical injuries sustained would not be covered by insurance, said Mohd Yussainy.
Forestry laws state that anyone found guilty of trespassing into closed forests could be fined up to RM10,000 or jailed not more than three years or both.
“We are now still working on raising public awareness and have not carried out full-on enforcement yet,” he added.
Prepping and training
The mountain guide programme was introduced in 2020 as an ecotourism reskilling and upskilling programme.
A total of RM5.5mil was allocated for training programmes between 2023 and 2025.
Mountain guides in a simulation exercise to rescue an ‘injured’ hiker.
Mohd Yussainy said in addition to improving safety, JPSM mountain guides were trained to help the public with trip preparations.
These include reports to the police as well as Fire and Rescue Department, both required before entering a forest reserve.
The guides, he said, were also first responders in the event of emergencies along with being the eyes and ears of the Forestry Department – looking out for illegal activities and monitoring trails.
“Those who have visited our forest trails may have seen ladders put in steep areas to ease their journey.
“These ladders were put in place by our mountain guides,” said Mohd Yussainy.
To qualify as a JPSM registered mountain guide, a person must be aged between 18 and 60 and have undergone a series of courses totalling some 18 days together with the Fire and Rescue Department and Army.
Physical fitness tests will be carried out to ensure applicants are fit for the job.
Among criteria required are the ability to swim a distance of 50m, run 2.4km and do a standing jump covering a distance of 1m.
“These free courses will also train participants to produce coordinates from physical maps for the purpose of search and rescue missions and to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
“The department receives up to 5,000 applicants per year but many are not able to fulfil the physical fitness requirements,” said Mohd Yussainy.
