JAKARTA - Minister of Forestry (Menhut) Raja Juli Antoni emphasized that the government will tighten supervision and evaluate the total procedure for mountain climbing so that it is no longer used as a "ikut-ikut" event or Fear Of MissingOut (FOMO) for climbers.
Going up the mountain is not the same as going to the mall. It takes adequate physical, mental, and equipment preparation. Don't just follow the trend, because safety shouldn't be at stake," said Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, June 30.
The Minister of Forestry's statement regarding the incident of a climber from Brazil, Juliana Marins (27), who was reported missing on Mount Rinjani, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Saturday (21/6).
After five days of searching for the climber was found dead at the bottom of a rocky ravine, about 600 meters below the hiking trail.
Related to this, he continued, the government will strengthen two sides at once, namely increasing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and infrastructure, as well as encouraging public awareness to be more responsible for mountain climbing activities.
This commitment is considered as a form of government not anti-criticism as was the case of the evacuation of Juliana's victims, which was judged by netizens in Brazil as not satisfactory in terms of speed.
"We will evaluate the total SOP, increase the number of posts on the hiking trail, and prepare technology such as RFID attached to climbers' bracelets, so that they can be quickly detected if there is an emergency," said the Minister of Transportation.
In addition, the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) will also certify mountain guides and compile the emergency potential for each mountain.
Regarding emergency response efforts, his party assessed that the SAR team from Basarnas had international certification and received good recognition many times, including the top four in Asia Pacific, almost equivalent to the United States (US) and Canada.
Although with this capacity, according to him, Basarnas still needs to be strengthened through partnerships with professional open-door activity volunteers, such as Agam Rinjani and Tyo Survival who are volunteers to evacuate the bodies of Juliana Marins.
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The Ministry of Transportation together with Basarnas and other related institutions are also preparing a memorandum of understanding and cooperation agreement with various parties so that the emergency response will be faster.
"We are a statering of fire. This incident can happen anywhere. Basarnas is good, but it is also supported by extraordinary resistance from our community and of course important SAR infrastructure is prepared," said the Minister of Forestry.
He emphasized that the awareness of climbers to prepare physically and mentally before traveling is very important, because all possibilities can occur if individual conditions are not in maximum condition.
"Our imagination about climbing a mountain should not be equated with going to the office, on vacation, this requires physical training, complete equipment, and mental readiness," said the Minister of Transportation.
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