Hiking activities at Gunung Batu Putih temporarily suspended - Perak Forestry Dept

­IPOH - Hiking activities at Gunung Batu Putih have been temporarily suspended with immediate effect.

Perak State Forestry director Datuk Mohd Basri Abdul Manaf confirmed the matter, saying that climbing activities would be halted for three to six months.

"We will look at the (level of) safety in that area. We also want to rehabilitate the area, and it will take three to six months," he said when met by reporters after the 2026 state-level International Day of Forests celebration, officiated by the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad here today.

Also present were State Science, Environment, and Green Technology Committee chairman Teh Kok Lim and Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia director-general Datuk Zahari Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, Mohd Basri said his team will also examine in detail the standard operating procedures (SOP) for hiking activities, including the cut-off time for forest hikes in the state.

Meanwhile, Saarani, during the same press conference, said that the Orang Asli community should be involved in every hiking activity of the search and rescue (SAR) operations for missing persons in forest areas.

He said that this is because the Orang Asli community better understands the ins and outs and the actual conditions of a particular forest area.

According to him, the forest area is not only monitored by the Forestry Department, but is also inhabited by the Orang Asli community, who are the original inhabitants and possess extensive knowledge about the forest area.

"The maintenance of this forest, besides being overseen by the Forestry Department, also involves the local community, which consists of the Orang Asli people.

"Orang Asli communities, especially the Tok Batin, should be involved in hiking activities, and when there are cases of missing persons, and when SAR operations are carried out, they should also be involved," he said.

Previously, a female hiker, Jaslinda Saludin, 49, was reported to have started the Trans Spencer Chapman trek at 2 am on May 23, along with 13 other individuals and two Forestry Mountain Guides (MGP), via the Pos Gedung-Gunung Bah Gading-Gunung Batu Putih-Kuala Woh route.

Jaslinda and another climber, Mohd Hanafi Neikmad, 41, experienced health issues and stopped climbing; however, the clerk at a private company was reported to have continued the journey to the mountain peak and was last seen on May 24. - BERNAMA