KUALA LUMPUR — The Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia is set to collaborate with the Nepal High Mountain Academy (NHMA) to produce more skilled officials for future search and rescue missions.
NHMA, based in Kathmandu, is regarded as one of the best institutions globally for search and rescue training, particularly for Mount Everest missions, which it has been conducting since 1945.
Currently, the academy trains 24,000 students from around the world.
Director of the Forestry Department, Mohamad Yussainy Yusop, announced that 15 officials—seven from the forestry department and eight from the fire and rescue department—will attend a course at NHMA from November 8 to 16.
“Most of the participants will be senior officials, with a few juniors joining.
“We aim to set a benchmark by learning from NHMA’s modules and integrate these lessons to improve our own search and rescue operations,” said Yussainy during a press conference organised by the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia in Kepong today.
He added that the department aims to use NHMA’s modules as a benchmark to revise their training programmes, with the goal of enhancing rescue efforts and reducing the roughly 1,000 missing hiker cases recorded annually by half in the coming year.
A forestry department study revealed that from 2018 to 2024, around 2,000 missing hiker cases were reported across Malaysia, with Bukit Jambul, Broga Hill, Gunung Gua Rimau, Gunung Singai, Puncak Jelapang, and Gunung Pulai being the hotspots, accounting for 1,200 cases.
In May 2024, three youths went missing while trekking at Gunung Keriang in Kedah. — October 15, 2024