Malaysia to review Mount Kinabalu guidelines

SINGAPORE — The Malaysian authorities are mulling over the need to review safety guidelines for mountain climbing on Mount Kinabalu, including setting a minimum age of 15 and re-looking safety protocols for climbers.

State education director Jame Alip told Malay Mail Online yesterday that 15 years is a “more reasonable age” to scale the mountain, and will be discussing this with other state officials.

However, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, when asked if such a requirement was necessary, said there is educational value in school children visiting Mount Kinabalu. “I don’t think so ... We want … this mountain area to be highly accessible so that people can learn to appreciate (the) nature, appreciate the heritage,” he said during a visit to Sabah yesterday.

Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, said the earthquake “changes everything”. “Previously we’ve never had an earthquake with an epicentre so close to the mountain,” he said during a visit to Tanjong Katong Primary School’s (TKPS) condolence corner yesterday.

The safety aspects of climbing will have to be looked at, while metereologists and geologists will have to study the threat of seismic movement on Mount Kinabalu, he said. On whether climbers should be at least 15 years old, Mr Khairy said this would depend on the outcome of the review.

The earthquake killed 16 climbers on Mount Kinabalu, among them six 12-year-olds from TKPS, causing some to question if young climbers should be making the ascent.

There is no minimum age for climbing Mount Kinabalu, but only those at least 10 years old can go on the Via Ferrata, one of the routes up the mountain. The six students, part of a larger group, were on the Via Ferrata.

Other primary schools that have led their students on expeditions on Mount Kinabalu include Hougang Primary School, which brought groups of 11-year-olds up the mountain on the Via Ferrata between 2008 and 2011. It stopped these trips after a shift in school’s focus from adventure to cultural immersion, said principal Rashidah Abdul Rasip.

Last year, three uniformed groups from River Valley Primary School reached Mount Kinabalu’s summit, said the school’s website.

Ms Quek I-Gek, marketing director for Mountain Torq, which manages the Via Ferrata, told TODAY the company does not plan to revise the age requirement for the Via Ferrata, and state officials have not consulted them on the matter thus far.

Adding that their youngest client is an eight-year-old who was assessed to be fit enough for the trek, she said: “The (minimum age) is not only for Singaporeans but for everyone … this minimum age was decided based on the suggestion from the Via Ferrata builders from Europe.”

The adventurers and guides interviewed all concurred that age is not the only determining factor for suitability; as physical and mental fitness are equally important. Moving forward, there could be precautionary measures put in place against unforeseen events and better mountain rescue resources.

Mountain guides in Sabah said they have brought children as young as six years up the mountain, and did not see the need to set a minimum age.

However, guide Nuhairi Kintai suggested that climbers could be taught how to swiftly release the carabiner securing to the safety cables on the mountain-side in an emergency, so that they can escape. “They can at least ... run down the mountain (instead of being) stuck,” he said

Mr Wong Yuen Lik, manager of X-Trekkers, which has organised Mount Kinabalu trips for TKPS in previous years, agreed that given what happened, experts could assess the risk of falling rocks and provide alternative escape routes. He added that even those old enough to attempt the Via Ferrata will not be allowed to climb “if they are not in the right mental state to follow instructions”.

Outdoor adventure company Ace Adventure project director Jack Chen, who has been climbing for the past 20 years, noted how a person reacts in an emergency does not only depend on age. “It is about the individual as a whole, depending on the age, depending on experience, and depending on the person’s fitness level,” he said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ALFRED CHUA