(From left) MTWA secretary Mohd Shufee Redha Samsudin, Muhammad Yusuf, Mohd Amirul Abdul Aziz (top branch), Muhammad Hariz and Muhammad Amir training at the Perdana Botanical Garden in Kuala Lumpur. — Photos: GRACE CHEN and ART CHEN/The Star
GOING up a tree aided primarily by harness, rope and friction hitches requires climbers to have skill, endurance and the ability to push past the fear of heights.
Climbing tall trees requires a unique set of individuals, whether they are pruning dead branches for community safety, checking the tree’s health, affixing lines, or harvesting honey and fruits.
Some even do it as a sport or to learn a new skill.
Low (left), getting help with his helmet from MTWAsecretary Mohd Shufee Redha Samsudin during a tree-climbing lesson for beginners at the Pulai Trail in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
StarMetro spoke to a group of professional tree climbers and a beginner to find out how they got their start and what motivated them.
Some of them are taking part in the upcoming three-day Malaysian Tree Climbing Championship or MTCC (see sidebar story) taking place in Putrajaya.
Up and alive
It was his first time up a tree and if not for quick thinking, strong hands, harness and safety ropes, Eddie Low, 52, would have fallen and injured himself.
Low was sharing about his experience at the Pulai Trail in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur where he attended a tree-climbing lesson for beginners organised by the Malaysian Tree Workers Association (MTWA) and Free Tree Society.
Muhammad Amir, better known as ‘Black’, laying out hisequipment in preparation for a tree climbing lesson atPulai Trail.
Despite the initial fright, he was willing to give tree climbing a second, even a third try.
“I feel alive,” said Low when asked to describe his experience.
It is a feeling that MTWA member Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad Muniran, 33, an event volunteer, can relate to.
“It’s the thrill of being able to swing or jump from branch to branch, free and agile like a monkey or a squirrel,” Muhammad Yusuf said.
As a two-time champion of the MTCC (2018 and 2023), the full-time physical education teacher at SMK Damansara Jaya and a father of two has also competed in the Asia Pacific Tree Climbing Championship (APTCC) in 2023 in Singapore and 2024 in Pahang.
For Muhammad Yusuf, joining competitions isn’t about seeking glory.
“It’s all for the fun of it. I enjoy the adrenaline rush,” he said.
He shared a story about a close shave he had with another climber, 25-year-old Choong Yoong Shern.
They had to hold on for dear life at the top of two eucalyptus trees in Setiawangsa as a strong gust of wind caused them to sway.
Fortunately, the episode which took place in January, lasted for less than half a minute, and the two men were able to descend safely.
Choong (right, in black T-shirt) helping a participant at a tree-climbing class at the Pulai Trail in Bangsar,Kuala Lumpur.
They had climbed the trees to prune them as part of a height and canopy reduction exercise.
In addition to his full-time job, Muhammad Yusuf is also a certified tree climber. He took up a course in 2018 to gain an additional skill.
“I was looking for a sport and was not good at football. But I did remember how, in primary school, I enjoyed climbing up my neighbour’s Malayan cherry tree, eating the fruits as I sat on the branches and surveyed the world below me.
“So, when I found an adventure outfit that taught the course, I went for it,” he said.
For Muhammad Yusuf, maintaining a safety-first mindset is crucial.
Lee getting ready to clean epiphytes from the treeat the Pasir Pelangi Palace in Johor two years ago. — Courtesy photo
There was a time when the soft-spoken teacher got caught in the rain while attempting to instal a compass on a 40m tree in an adventure challenge.
“The rain together with strong wind made the branches slippery and the tree sway. So, in such conditions, it was best to stay put and stay calm.
“There are many risks when it comes to tree climbing. There may be bees and weaver ants that will bite and annoy you.
“For me, it is simple. When I find that a tree is not suitable, I will not climb it,” he said.
Muhammad Yusuf is a two-time winner of the Malaysian Tree Climbing Championship for 2018 and 2023.
Cultivating awareness
Ever since he was 16, Muhammad Amir Hamzah, 35, who is popularly known as “Black”, has been making a living as a tree climber.
“My friends and I were ‘kampung boys’ and our main job was to collect honey and harvest petai,” said Black.
Eventually, Black met an arborist who recruited him and his friends to be part of a research team in Pulau Tioman where he would stay for nine years.
Currently, he is based in Kuala Lumpur with a tree care and maintenance company. The father of two heads a team of four tree climbers, earning a five-figure salary.
MTWA president Muhammad Hariz Ibrahim, 33, who represents approximately 100 members who are tree workers, hoped more able-bodied young people would take up the profession.
The father of two, who founded MTWA in 2019, comes from a sports management and recreation background. He used to organise flying fox, abseiling and zipline activities for adventure seekers in Kluang, Johor.
He is a qualified tree surgeon certified by City and Guilds in the United Kingdom.
“Just as the trees planted by our fathers require this generation to care for them, the trees we plant now will need a new generation of tree workers,” said Muhammad Hariz, who would also be taking part in the tree-climbing championship.
Describing tree climbing as a developing field in Malaysia, Lee Wei Jie, 28, whose family runs a landscaping company in Johor, said previously the job of tree care was largely left to odd job workers.
There was no proper certification for such work.
“Little do people know that incorrect pruning can damage a tree and bring about its decay,” he said.
Lee climbed his first tree at age 26 with the help of Jimmy Anderson from Sarawak, whom he met at an arboriculture course.
The assignment was to remove epiphytes (plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant) as well as to clean and reduce the crown of a 50-year-old, 25m-high tree at Pasir Pelangi Palace in Johor.
Since then, he has climbed no fewer than 60 trees to carry out pruning and other types of maintenance.
He hoped to connect with like-minded individuals and observe the latest techniques and equipment used for tree access at the championship.
“I will be looking forward to learning from the ‘sifus’,” said Lee, who has a certificate of competency from Lantra, a UK-based skills organisation.
