“I Never Meant To Leave Him Alone In The Dark” – Mountain Guide On Hiker’s Final Moments

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The mountain guide responsible for ensuring no one gets left behind says he never intended to abandon the hiker who later died from hypothermia on Gunung Liang.

Rahimi Md Arifin, 50, was the designated “sweeper” for Mustaqqeem Mansoor, 34, who went missing during a descent from the peak on 14 October.

“As a sweeper, I had no intention of separating and letting him walk alone in the dark,” Rahimi told the press.

At 10.30 pm in heavy rain and freezing cold, Rahimi went ahead to scout the route while the injured Mustaqqeem followed slowly behind.

Despite waiting at several spots along the trail and even sleeping for hours, expecting him to catch up, Mustaqqeem never appeared.

The experienced guide could see Mustaqqeem’s light moving down the peak in the darkness before losing sight of him forever.

Warning Signs Ignored As Time Pressure Takes Its Toll

Throughout the third day of hiking, Mustaqqeem had been acting oddly, nervously looking around while walking and claiming he was watching for tree roots to avoid tripping when questioned.

He mentioned several times that he was afraid, but never specified what he was afraid of, even though he was initially cheerful during the expedition.

Rahimi believes the compressed three-day timeline, instead of the usual four to five days, may have stressed and exhausted Mustaqqeem.

The sweeper said he doesn’t rule out the possibility that Mustaqqeem went back up to the peak after descending a few meters.

By then, Rahimi was too exhausted and injured with a toe injury that forced him to hike in slippers, preventing him from turning back.

His explanations come amidst a barrage of criticism levelled at the sweeper.

Could He Have Been Saved?

A firefighter who found Mustaqqeem’s body says there was mobile phone coverage at the peak – raising questions about why no distress call was made.

“If early information had been received, God willing, maybe he could have been saved,” said Marazman Mohamad, who used his Celcom line to report the discovery via WhatsApp.

The 11-person expedition began on 10 October at Bukit Fraser – Mustaqqeem’s body was found after a search operation.

A post-mortem confirmed he died from hypothermia.

Meanwhile, a critic has levelled eight serious accusations against the sweeper, claiming he made fatal errors, including forcing a nighttime descent at 10:30 PM in dangerous weather conditions, abandoning the injured hiker alone despite being responsible for his safety, and failing to report the missing person to authorities.

The critic argues that despite claiming 10 years of experience, the sweeper violated basic safety protocols by not reading weather conditions, lacking proper first aid equipment, and misleading others about the victim’s whereabouts.

Most damning is the accusation that the sweeper lied about having no mobile phone coverage when rescue officials confirmed early reporting could have saved the victim’s life.

READ MORE: [Watch] Mother Asks “Why Abandon Him?” After Son Dies During Gunung Liang Climb

Parts of this story have been sourced from Berita Harian.

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“I Never Meant To Leave Him Alone In The Dark” – Mountain Guide On Hiker’s Final Moments
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