Rescued Croatian hiker fined RM25,000 over Mount Kinabalu climb says trespassing was ‘last thing on my mind’

Croatian hiker Mauro Persic, residing in London, was fined RM25,000 for unauthorized entry into Kinabalu Park, an act he described as impulsive, driven by admiration for Mount Kinabalu's beauty.

He issued an apology via Facebook to Sabahans for any perceived disrespect, clarifying he aimed to respect the environment and cultural significance by leaving no trace and avoiding sacred peaks.

Persic refuted perceptions of his climb as conquering, emphasizing respect for the enduring nature of mountains and extended wishes for Malaysia Day.

His unauthorized climb and subsequent SOS led to a five-day rescue operation, during which he sustained injuries.

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 20 — Croatian hiker Mauro Persic, who was fined RM25,000 for trespassing into Kinabalu Park, has denied deliberately entering the mountain without permission or trying to avoid paying the entry fee.

The 46-year-old, who lives in London, said his climb was spontaneous and driven by his desire to explore Mount Kinabalu after seeing its beauty firsthand.

“I did not want to trespass nor avoid paying entry fees, that was the last thing on my mind. All I wanted to do was explore the captivating beauty of Kinabalu the moment I saw it,” he said in a Facebook post a day after Malaysia Day.

“As I have done many times before in different places around the globe. I did it on a spur of a moment and did not put enough thought and consideration to it. My sincere apologies for this.”

Persic also apologised to Sabahans who felt he had disrespected them, saying he had no intention of offending the state’s people, culture or the mountain.

“I would like to make an apology to all the people of Sabah who feel that I have disrespected them. I never meant any disrespect to people, culture nor mountain,” he said.

“People of Sabah have treated me like one of their own and I have only words of praise for them.”

Persic said he had also tried to respect the environment during the climb, claiming he left no trace behind and avoided climbing major peaks because of their sacred significance to the Kadazan-Dusun community.

“However, I have been as respectful as ever to the environment, leaving no trace behind and not climbing on top of any major peaks out of respect for sacred meaning that the mountain holds for Kadazan-Dusun people,” he said.

He said he did not consider his climb a conquest of Mount Kinabalu, questioning the idea of “conquering” mountains.

“Lastly, I did not conquer Kinabalu (nor any other mountain for that matter) and I find this commonly quoted concept wrong on so many levels,” he said.

“We might spend a fleeting moment on a peak but the mountain will remain there long after we're gone. Besides, why would one need to conquer anyways?”

Persic’s unauthorised climb came to light on Sept 6 after he sent an SOS when he was injured and stranded on a ledge along a steep slope.

A five-day rescue operation involving 43 personnel eventually brought him to safety, with a porter carrying him down the mountain after rescuers faced steep terrain, rain and poor visibility.

Persic sustained injuries to his right leg and ribs, as well as minor wounds to his hands.

He ended his post with a message for Malaysians: “I wish Happy Malaysia Day to all Malaysians, wherever they might be!”

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居住在伦敦的克罗地亚徒步旅行者毛罗·佩尔西奇因未经授权进入京那巴鲁公园而被罚款 25,000 令吉。他称此举是出于一时冲动，被京那巴鲁山的美景所吸引。

他通过 Facebook 向沙巴人民道歉，表示对任何被认为不尊重的行为表示歉意，并澄清说，他的目的是尊重环境和文化意义，不留痕迹，避开神圣的山峰。

佩尔西克驳斥了外界认为他登顶是征服的说法，强调了对山脉永恒本质的尊重，并表达了对马来西亚日的祝福。

他未经许可的攀爬以及随后发出的求救信号，引发了为期五天的救援行动，期间他受了伤。

亚庇，9月20日讯——克罗地亚登山者毛罗·佩尔西奇因擅闯京那巴鲁公园被罚款25000令吉，他否认自己是故意未经许可进入山中，或试图逃避支付门票。

这位 46 岁、居住在伦敦的男子表示，他的攀登是临时起意的，源于他亲眼目睹京那巴鲁山的壮丽景色后，想要探索这座山的愿望。

“我既不想擅闯禁地，也不想逃避门票，那是我最不关心的事情。我只想在看到京那巴鲁山的那一刻，就去探索它迷人的美景，”他在马来西亚日后的第二天在脸书上发帖说道。

“就像我以前在世界各地多次做过的那样，我当时是一时冲动，没有经过深思熟虑。对此我深表歉意。”

佩尔西奇还向沙巴人民道歉，表示他无意冒犯该州人民、文化或山脉，因为他觉得自己没有冒犯他们的意思。

“我想向所有觉得我冒犯了他们的沙巴人民道歉。我绝无任何不尊重人民、文化或山脉之意，”他说。

“沙巴人民待我如家人一般，我对他们只有赞美之词。”

佩尔西奇表示，他在攀登过程中也努力尊重环境，声称自己没有留下任何痕迹，并且避免攀登主要山峰，因为这些山峰对卡达山-杜顺族群具有神圣的意义。

“然而，我一如既往地尊重环境，不留下任何痕迹，也没有攀登任何主要山峰，这是出于对卡达山杜顺族人神圣意义的尊重，”他说。

他说他不认为自己的攀登是征服京那巴鲁山，并对“征服”山脉的想法提出了质疑。

“最后，我并没有征服京那巴鲁山（或者任何其他山峰），而且我认为这种常被引用的说法在很多方面都是错误的，”他说。

“我们或许只能在山峰上停留片刻，但山峰在我们离开之后仍将屹立不倒。再说，我们又何必征服它呢？”

9 月 6 日，佩尔西奇在陡坡上的一个岩架上受伤并被困，他发出求救信号后，未经许可的攀登行为才被曝光。

经过五天的救援行动，43名救援人员最终将他救出，一名搬运工背着他下山，此前救援人员面临着陡峭的地形、雨水和低能见度等困难。

佩尔西奇右腿和肋骨受伤，双手也受了轻伤。

他在帖子的最后向马来西亚人民送上祝福：“祝所有马来西亚人民马来西亚日快乐，无论他们身在何处！”

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