BY RASHEEQA BAHIDA & ELVINA TING
KUCHING: Organisers of trail running and forest recreational activities have been urged to implement more comprehensive participant monitoring systems instead of relying solely on the presence of sweepers or headcounts before and after an event.
Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, said safety measures must be strengthened following several recent cases of participants getting lost during outdoor activities.
“If organisers only know how many people boarded the bus and how many returned, that is not enough. If a participant goes missing somewhere along the trail, how do you locate them?
“That is why monitoring points need to be established at several locations along the route so participants’ movements can be tracked and immediate action can be taken in case of an emergency,” he said during a press conference announcing Interhash 2028 at Baitulmakmur II today.
Abdul Karim was commenting on safety measures that organisers should pay attention to following several incidents involving participants getting lost during trail running and hiking activities.
He said the growing interest in outdoor recreational activities such as trail running, marathons and hiking was a positive development as it reflected increasing awareness of healthy lifestyles.
He noted that Sarawak now hosts several marathons registered under the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), making it one of the most active states in Malaysia in organising running events.
However, he stressed that the increasing number of participants and outdoor events also demands a higher level of responsibility from organisers, particularly when involving participants unfamiliar with the event location.
“Locals may know the area better, but participants from outside can easily get lost. The same thing happens in hiking and trekking activities in forest areas.
“We have seen many cases of hikers losing their way while climbing mountains or trekking through forest trails. That is why route management and participant monitoring need to be more stringent,” he said.
Abdul Karim added that managers of recreational sites and hiking trails should ensure routes are clearly identified and require participants to register before commencing activities.
He stressed that participant safety is a shared responsibility and should never be taken lightly by any party involved in organising or managing such activities.
“We do not want participants to be left behind or lost in the forest. Our responsibility is to ensure that those who come to Sarawak to participate in these events can return home safely,” he said.
