Search the Community

Source: https://mothership.sg/2022/12/k-9-rescue-dog-collapse-genting-highland-landslide/ Rescue workers involved in search operations to locate the buried victims of the Dec. 16 landslide near Genting Highlands were reportedly tired by Sunday after three days of work. But it was not just human personnel who have been pushed to the limits during search, rescue, and salvage efforts in arduous conditions. According to Selangor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director Norazam Khamis, an English springer spaniel keeled over from sheer exhaustion after two consecutive days of searching. The dog, named Blake, will be rested as a result. Equipped with a keen sense of smell thousands of times more acute than humans, the rescue dogs were called upon to sniff out leads that can detect those trapped. Photos put up on Facebook showed the extent of the difficult conditions on the ground for rescue and salvage operations. Another Facebook post showed the dogs on site in tough conditions. Need to recuperate The conditions of the affected sites have tested some of the K-9 dogs, pushing them to their limits. The K-9 dog detection unit were activated to work alongside their human handlers to look for people in the thick mud, slush or rain. “After two days of slogging more than the allotted time, they (detection dogs) too badly need to rest and recuperate though they are not injured," Norazam said. “That’s why at this stage, we will rotate them in turn, starting with three (dogs) first, then we will use the rest." Norazam said so far, there are 11 tracking dogs placed on standby at the scene to assist in the search. Six belong to the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia, four are from the Royal Malaysian Police, and one hails from the Malaysian Army. “We may ask for an increase if necessary,” he added. Of the 94 people caught in the landslide, 61 have been rescued.

A trip to the Genting Highlands. It was a 4 days short trip in the Sept holidays. Managed to get some really good weather in the Genting, no foggy skies and it's not even cold enough to make me put on jacket most of the time. Besides Genting, we also made a trip down to the temple where we met the 18 level of hell artifacts , which I do not wish to put into this video due to those bloodied and scary scenes. But those were similar to the HP villa in singapore's. Pretty tough on my children as they were too scared to look at them . Apart from that scary sh*t, our trip was really fun and carefree. Did what we did, spend what we spent and ate what we eat.. LOL

I am sure most of you are aware of Initial D, the Japanese manga comic/animie and movie about a kid who started out delivering Tofu to a mountainside resort with his father's old Toyota Levin Trueno. The kid in question became so good at delivering Tofu until he could actually beat the best illegal hillside racers without even realizing it. Of course, this was the premise only as the chap eventually became one of those illegal hillside/drift racers and taking on challenges along the way. This had made me want to share my own set of stories about hillside champions. These drivers actually use these hillside roads on a daily basis without a care in the world. Like second nature. They aren't actually racing you up and down the hill slopes but they just want to get to where they are supposed to be and you actually happened to be in the way. I shall tell a few tales about these unsung 'heroes' that ply the windy roads in and around Peninsular Malaysia. One story is my own, the other two told to me by two of my old friends. The first one is that tale where I was headed down from the Genting Highlands in my own Subaru Impreza 1.6ts. This happened sometime in 2005 and I was actually belting it (a little). I remember even outdriving a late 1980s Mitsubishi Colt Turbo which seemed to be pretty highly modded and my car stock with the exception of 17 inch wheels and tyres. The Colt was only fast in a straight line as it only managed to catch up with me when the road started straightening out and when it was close to the Karak toll booths at Gombak. But this wasn't a tale of David vs Goliath or handling over power as behind me was a gargantuan Toyota Landcruiser based Lexus LX470 V8. This SUV was actually keeping up with me. Imagine that, a tall and heavy Toyota Landcruiser keeping up a decently driven small sedan. I was surprised, but I wasn't that surprised as I somehow noted that this was a vehicle used by the staff of the Genting Resort. It was exactly like how a person who basically knew the road like the back of their hands would drive. Even if it was a tall and heavy (albeit powerful) SUV. The second tale of woe (actually the first tale of woe as the first story is about my respect for a well driven SUV) is when a friend of mine told me the tale of his business associate who was driving an Alfa Romeo 146 1.7 at the time. He was actually enjoy a spirited drive on the roads around Kota Tinggi in Johor when out of the blue he was tailed by a very noisy old Ford. Noisy old Fords are nothing new in Malaysia but this wasn't no ordinary noisy old Ford. It was a Ford Econovan with a cheap noisy exhaust. Now the chap driving the Alfa Romeo wasn't going to let some old beat up van beat him. Unfortunately by the time he dropped a cog the van actually overtook him at a hairpin and then started pulling away from the chap in the Alfa. It was actually jaw dropping and eventually the chap basically heard the drone of the cheap exhaust further and further away. The shocking thing according to my friend was that the chap driving the Alfa caught a glimpse of the van driver and he was totally nonchalant about what he was doing. It was like second nature to that chap as he sped away. Amazing what an old van can do sometimes. Now the third tale that I wish to share is one I actually liked hearing. There was once a self proclaimed king of the Ulu Yam 'Ring'. Ulu Yam is the road where car enthusiasts usually use for the sunday drives up Genting Highlands and this chap actually owned a workshop (or was it a tyre shop) somewhere near Ulu Yam and drove one of those Japanese rally specials. As he drove this stretch daily he assumed that he knew every nook and cranny of the roads there. This chap actually believed that he was like the chap in Initial D. But last I heard he was whooped silly at Sepang and he actually crashed one of those all-wheel drive cars at Ulu Yam. Not much was heard from him after that. Of course, fiction follows fact most of the time and I think the stories told in here proves this fact quite well actually. The drivers in Initial D may actually exist in one form or the other. He could be a van driver in Johor or a SUV driver in Genting. But definitely not a rally special in Ulu Yam. - This.....- -....was beaten by this-

We know that citizens as well as permanent residents of Singapore get hit with an entrance fee if they want to frequent the casinos over at Resorts World Sentosa and the one at Marina Bay area. Each prospective fun-seeker would need to pay SG$100 before he or she starts losing money at one of these places. Now if you intend to spend a hundred Singapore Dollars in a slightly better way, may I suggest using that money for a drive to Genting Highlands? The hundred dollars would be used as part of the North-South highway toll charges and some for petrol. And after a good three and a half hours or so of driving on the highway as well as through the Middle Ring Road II around Kuala Lumpur you reach the first Karak Highway toll collection booth. It is here where things can be a slightly more enjoyable motoring experience if you decide to enter the slip road right (photo above) before the toll and then use enter Jalan Gombak (Gombak Road) and head towards Karak/ Bentong. This stretch of road is known as the old road to Bentong. It is actually very scenic as you firstly pass all the 'kampung' or villages along Gombak Road up to the 12th (Batu 12) mile where it also passes a aboriginal/native hospital and museum (which is also a good tourist spot to visit if you're heading towards Genting). There are also some nice picnic spots beside the road where the Gombak River winds towards Kuala Lumpur. So you get to see some rustic Malaysian locales as well as soak in the tropical rain forest up close. You can't do this if you're on the Karak Highway. Furthermore, after a long tedious highway drive you actually get a chance to do some very nice tight and twisty roads. It is almost hairpin after hairpin and at one point, you can actually see the Karak Highway from this stretch of road. Imagine yourselves using a hot hatchback or a nice all-wheel drive on this stretch of road. You'll be wringing out the engine in 2nd and 3rd gear for most of the corners (or 3rd mostly in a more powerful car) and hearing the sound of your engine bouncing off the hillside (on one side) and a ravine on the other. Yes, it may be a little intimidating as this stretch is quite narrow and occasionally you will either spend some time behind a timber carrying lorry or finding one barreling towards you from the opposite direction. But this is all part of the thrill of driving. And you may 'save' RM5 as you avoid paying the toll. (However you may spend more on fuel if you're really belting it) This short windy 20 or so km stretch of road ends up at Genting Sempah where you'll see the interchange as the first sign of civilization (above). Genting Sempah is where the highway continues all the way to Kuantan (the state capital of Pahang) and is the main transit point to Genting Highlands. There is also another extremely nice, but one with faster sweeping corners to Genting Highlands. The Ulu Yam-GohTong Jaya stretch. But that is another story that may also be told in here at a later date. Some may say that the stretch from Genting Sempah to Genting Highlands is challenging enough for them. I would agree as the inclines are much steeper. But I would also disagree on another point as here, the roads are almost three lanes wide at some points and if there was less traffic you could technically use nice wide racing lines whereas if you started from the old road to Bentong, you may think you're on a tarmac rally rain forrest stage. Belting a Swift Sport through here comes to mind. But even if I took a bone stock (and slightly dull) Toyota Vios I'd have tons of fun. I think this is a much better way to spend your hundred dollars (or more) instead of handing it over before you can even start to have fun at the places I mentioned in the opening paragraph. And while the Karak Highway (below) may be fun as it is pretty windy in some stretches it can't beat those hairpins. Period. genting highlands photo:wikipedia the rest: author's own