FARIK Zolkepli woke up at 5am. He had to travel to Johor Baru for the funeral of an aunt who had passed the night before. He never made the trip.
As always after getting up, the first thing the news editor and crime desk chief did was check his phone – and what he saw jolted him completely awake.
“I was still groggy and thought the alert read, ‘10 victims trapped at a campsite’. But I checked again and was shocked when I realised the alert actually read, ‘100 victims’.
“Initially, I used the KL-Karak expressway and planned to enter Batang Kali through Gohtong Jaya, but the road was severely damaged, and police had cordoned off the area,” he said.
Instead, he drove to Gombak to find a detour to the disaster area. As he neared the area, the smell of mud from the landslide at a campsite at the Father’s Organic Farm in Batang Kali was overpowering.
Even almost four years after the tragedy on Dec 16, 2022, the smell of the mud still lingers in his mind and that of the other journalists who rushed there.
The fatal landslide at 2.30 in the morning took the lives of 31 people, including 13 children. Some 70 others were rescued alive from the tonnes of earth that came tumbling down.
At ground zero, updates were difficult to get; communication was tough with Internet coverage almost non-existent.
“It was chaotic with emergency services personnel at work and media practitioners scurrying for updates.
“The media set up camp, waiting for any news on the victims while searching for the best spots to get a phone signal,” Farik said. Some even resorted to climbing on top of vans and trucks to beat the thick tree lines blocking cell coverage.
Despite being a veteran who had seen his fair share of tragedies, Farik said the tragedy was soul-sapping.
“It’s hard to see 31 people losing their lives in a tragedy. Despite the chaos and turmoil, I tip my hat to the men and women of the rescue agencies, particularly the Fire and Rescue Department and the police force.
“All of them gave their best,” he said.
If it was bad for the veteran, it was tougher for then rookie journalist Gerard Gimino, who had to drive up to the scene to replace the day crew.
“We saw firefighters with mud stains up to the hip coming out from the site, and we could see their exhaustion. Some would immediately go for water while others just lay flat as others took over their duties.
“What happened was still a shock to me. All we could do was wait and see if the next thing that was brought out was a stretcher with a dead body,” Gerard said.
Photographer Azhar Mahfof, one of the first few to enter the site proper, remembered the mud that clung to his shoes as he trekked into the affected areas with rescuers.
“When my name was called by the Fire and Rescue Department to accompany them into the disaster area, we were instructed to prepare proper footwear, bring some food supplies and attend a briefing.
“To get to the site, we had to cross a stream and navigate through a heavily muddy area for about 30 minutes.
“Upon reaching the site, all of us photographers were given two hours to document the search-and-rescue operation,” he said.
Azhar remembers one vivid detail from that expedition – belongings of the victims still littering the area.
“It was so sad to see the personal belongings scattered around the site, and knowing that many victims had yet to be found.
“After about two hours at the site, we were escorted out. Unfortunately, our route had been cut off as the path was swept away by strong currents. We had to ride in the bucket of an excavator to get through.”
Behind the grief and sorrow, though, there were also pockets of hope and inspiration.
An English springer spaniel by the name of Blake was among the K9 units deployed to the scene, with the dogs becoming the faces of the operations.
For days, the exploits of the K9 teams were among the most read by all Malaysians, as all waited with bated breath while the four-legged heroes worked round the clock to find any sign of life.
Blake made the news when he famously passed out from exhaustion after operating in the area for days, leading to well-wishes from readers.
Animal lovers, appreciating the hard work done by man’s best friend, also came in to deliver dog food. The dogs also became mini celebrities and were honoured by the department for their services.
Unfortunately, a year on, Blake lost his life due to stage four cancer.
Then Selangor Fire and Rescue Department director Datuk Norazam Khamis was also an inspiration, rushing to the scene just days after suffering a stroke.
“He did the most amazing thing, coming back to work as soon as he was discharged,” Farik recalled.
The tragedy led to a halt in camping sites in the state, while the affected Jalan Batang Kali-Genting Highlands remained closed until July 2024.
Selangor has since beefed up regulations and oversight in the state as more campsite businesses opened up.
While it remains among the darkest days of the country, the Batang Kali landslide was also a time of unison.
It was a time when Malaysians put aside their differences to weep alongside the families of the lost 31.
