Malaysia's government is cracking down on a social media-driven hiking trend after a sharp rise in rescue operations across the country's forests and mountains. In the first five months of 2026, authorities recorded 52 cases of lost hikers — nearly 30% more than the same period the previous year — prompting new rules that include mandatory guides at 189 high-risk locations, pre-climb health and insurance checks, and outright bans on so-called 'compressed hikes', which condense multi-day trails into a single outing to generate dramatic social media content. The deputy minister of natural resources told parliament the measures are intended to reduce costly search-and-rescue operations, which he said have been strained by hikers who prioritise online content over basic safety preparation.