KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — Malaysia has a diverse landscape that offers even the novice thrill seeker an extreme challenge.
There are steep hills and high mountains, challenging rapids and verdant jungles, thus extreme activities like jungle tracking, scaling hills and mountains, whitewater rafting provide the perfect challenge for adrenalin rush seekers.
And what’s more, many of these places are easily accessible so even the average person feels he is ready for an extreme challenge without any preparation.
A good example is Bukit Tabur in Taman Melawati, at the fringes of the city. This hill is a prominent part of the nature reserve with its nature laden trail attracting city folks up to the peak to enjoy the fresh air and panoramic view of the city.
The eastern side has a rock face and it attracts those who want to put their endurance and bravery to test. But since 2009 four people have fallen to their deaths and many have been injured due to falls.
Early this year Soleha Abd Rahman, 25, fell 60 metres into a ravine and died while trying to abseil the rock face. Less than a month earlier a science teacher Ng Pee Tat, in his 30s slipped from a ridge and lost his life. In 2009 Dr Haliza Mohd Shafie and Dr Amin Tai Abdullah are believed to have fallen to their deaths while tracking to the Bukit Tabur peak.
Then there was host of reports of people getting lost while jungle tracking or being washed away by strong water currents. This made many think twice in indulging in such extreme undertakings.
The bravest or the most foolhardy
Many of those participating in such risky extreme activities do so without preparation, equipment or even guides. There are literally tempting their fate.
Outworld Training and Equipment Manager Haslil Razif Amir Hasan, who has been active in extreme sports for 10 years, said the lure of Bukit Tabur for anyone is understandable, especially looking at the fact it is located close to the city and is easily accessible.
Yet how many of the hikers really know their own fitness level, what more the treacherous trail. They made no preparations and took things easy including their safety.
“To them there is nothing to worry about. And from where they stand they could see KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre). The hospital is near, phone calls can be made in the event of an emergency.
“Some don’t even bother to take water with them when going up believing that they could scale back down easily and buy a drink at a nearby shop.
“Unfortunately, they become too exhausted to return due to the challenging terrain,” lamented Haslil Razif on the poor preparation and the lack of personal safety when undertaking extreme activities.
Poor safety consciousness
Though a guide or some basic training on safety could have helped in preventing accidents in extreme sports, many take the easy way out when participating in extreme activities.
And such a nonchalant attitude on safety is further attested in a study entitled “Adventure Tourism: Safety in White Water”, that Haslil Razif conducted while completing his masters degree in tourism development in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
Based on the feedback from 330 respondents in four whitewater areas, Sungai Selangor in Kuala Kubu and three rivers in Perak, he found that many of the participants were ‘calculative’ when it came to the safety aspect.
The study also discovered three important pitfalls — no experience, lacking in stamina and one’s ego that expose them to risks.
“They don’t want to pay and are willing to go on their own. They’d rather put their lives in danger than spend some money on their safety.
“You can go on your own for free but no one knows the risk. This attitude has to change,” lamented Haslil Razif.
Give priority to safety
As for most of the activities like whitewater rafting conducted under the supervision of a certified guide, hardly any untoward incident happens.
According to Haslil Razif, this is because apart from the trained guide, participants were provided with safety gear — safety jacket and helmet — and briefings on the safety precautions.
“Therefore it is pertinent that extreme sports activities are conducted by certified guides. And safety in extreme activities is especially important if extreme activities are to become part of the nation’s tourism product,” he said.
Spate of accidents has affected extreme activity
The spate of accidents involving extreme activities has sent shivers into many and thus many have been shying away from such extreme undertaking.
Whether this is a temporary or a long-term phenomenon remains to be seen but this has affected those involved in the extreme activity business.
Previously the cost of extreme activity packages is about RM100 or more depending on the level of difficulties and the distance of the destination.
Due to the declining demand for extreme sports, some extreme activity operators were forced to reduce the cost of their packages between 30-40 per cent, making life difficult for them.
The move was inevitable to avoid the worst case scenario, winding up their business for good.
“It is increasingly difficult to find customers and out of desperation we have to reduce the cost of the packages that we offer. As for me, this is something that is going to reduce the quality of service and compound the problem further”, said Haslil Razif.
“What happened not only impacted our business but also the nation’s tourism industry, though this sport is not dangerous if conducted with safety in mind.
“No doubt sports like this have inherent risks but we always give priority on safety by appointing professional guides and safety gear,” he explained. — Bernama
