Health advice
No inoculations are required for visiting Malaysia, although the immigration authorities may require a yellow-fever vaccination certificate if you have transited an endemic area, normally Africa or South America, within the preceding six days.
It’s a wise precaution to visit your doctor no less than two months before you leave to check that you are up to date with your polio, typhoid, tetanus and hepatitis inoculations. Tap water is drinkable throughout Malaysia, although in rural areas it’s best to buy bottled water, which is widely available.
Medical problems
Levels of hygiene and medical care in Malaysia are higher than in much of Southeast Asia; with any luck, the most serious thing you’ll go down with is an upset stomach.
Heat problems
Travellers unused to tropical climates may suffer from sunburn and dehydration. The easiest way to avoid this is to restrict your exposure to the midday sun, use high-factor sun screens, wear sunglasses and a hat. You should also drink plenty of water and, if you do become dehydrated, keep up a regular intake of fluids. Rehydration preparations such as Dioralyte are handy; the DIY version is a handful of sugar with a good pinch of salt added to a litre of bottled water, which creates roughly the right mineral balance. Heat stroke is more serious and can require hospitalization: its onset is indicated by a high temperature, dry red skin and a fast pulse.
Stomach problems
The most common complaint is a stomach problem, which can range from a mild dose of diarrhoea to full-blown dysentery. The majority of stomach bugs may be unpleasant, but are unthreatening; however, if you notice blood or mucus in your stools, then you may have amoebic or bacillary dysentery, in which case you should seek medical help.
Stomach bugs are usually transmitted by contaminated food and water, so steer clear of raw vegetables and shellfish, always wash unpeeled fruit, and stick to freshly cooked foods, avoiding anything reheated. However careful you are, food that’s spicy or just different can sometimes upset your system, in which case, try to stick to relatively bland dishes and avoid fried food.
Dengue fever and malaria
The main mosquito-borne disease to be aware of – and the chief reason to take measures to avoid mosquito bites – is dengue fever. The disease is caused by a virus spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito (which has distinctive white marks on its legs) and there are periodic outbreaks, not just in rural areas but also in the major cities. Symptoms include severe headaches, pain in the bones (especially of the back), fever and often a fine, red rash over the body. There’s no specific treatment, just plenty of rest, an adequate fluid intake and painkillers when required.
Although the risk of catching malaria is extremely low, consider protection against it if you think you might be staying in remote parts of Borneo for some time. Most doctors will advise taking antimalarial tablets which, though not completely effective in protecting against the disease, do considerably lessen the risk and can help reduce the symptoms should you develop the disease. Bear in mind you have to start taking the tablets before you arrive in a malaria zone, and continue taking them after you return – ask your doctor for the latest advice.
Altitude sickness
Altitude sickness (or acute mountain sickness) is a potentially life-threatening illness affecting people who ascend above around 3500m. Symptoms include dizziness, headache, shortness of breath, nausea; in severe cases it can lead to a swelling of the brain and lungs that can prove fatal. In Malaysia it’s only likely to be relevant to those climbing Mount Kinabalu (4095m), and most people report only mild symptoms at this altitude. If you’re affected, there’s little you can do apart from descending to lower altitude, although certain prescription drugs may temporarily control the symptoms.
Cuts, bites and stings
Wearing protective clothing when swimming, snorkelling or diving can help avoid sunburn and protect against any sea stings. Sea lice, minute creatures that cause painful though harmless bites are the most common hazard; more dangerous are jellyfish, whose stings must be doused with vinegar to deactivate the poison before you seek medical help.
Coral can also cause nasty cuts and grazes; any wounds should be cleaned and kept as dry as possible until properly healed. The only way to avoid well-camouflaged sea urchins and stone fish is by not stepping on the seabed: even thick-soled shoes don’t provide total protection against their long, sharp spines, which can be removed by softening the skin by holding it over a steaming pan of water.
As for mosquitoes, you can best avoid being bitten by covering up as much as is practical, and applying repellent to exposed flesh. Note that most repellents sold locally are based on citronella; if you want a repellent containing DEET, which some say is more effective, it’s best to buy it at home. Rural or beachside accommodation often features mosquito nets, and some places also provide slow-burning mosquito coils which generate a little smoke that apparently deters the insects.
For many people, the ubiquitous leech – whose bite is not actually harmful or painful – is the most irritating aspect to jungle trekking. Whenever there’s been rainfall, you can rely upon the leeches to come out. Always tuck your trousers into your socks and tie your bootlaces tight. The best anti-leech socks are made from calico and available in specialist stores. If you find the leeches are getting through, soak the outside of your socks and your boots in insect repellent.
Venomous snakes are not that common, and any that you might encounter will usually slink away. If you are unlucky enough to be bitten then remain still and call for an ambulance or get someone else to summon help. If it’s one of your limbs that has been bitten, ideally a pressure bandage should also be applied to slow the spread of any venom present.
Pharmacies, clinics and hospitals
Medical services in Malaysia are excellent; staff almost everywhere speak English and use up-to-date treatments. Details of pharmacies and hospitals are in the “Directory” sections of the Guide for cities and major towns.
Pharmacies stock a wide range of medicines and health-related items, from contraceptives to contact lens solution; opening hours are the same as for other shops. Pharmacists can recommend products for skin complaints or simple stomach problems, though it always pays to get a proper diagnosis.
Private clinics can be found even in small towns – your hotel or the local tourist office will be able to recommend a doctor. In Malaysia a consultation costs around RM30, not including the cost of any prescribed medication; keep the receipts for insurance-claim purposes. Finally, the emergency department of each town’s general hospital will see foreigners for a small fee, though obviously costs rise rapidly if continued treatment or overnight stays are necessary.
Combating leeches
Leeches are gruesome but pretty harmless creatures that almost all hikers will encounter. A tiny, muscular tube with teeth at one end, they lie dormant in rainforest leaf litter until, activated by your footfalls and body heat, they latch onto your boot, then climb until they find a way through socks and trousers and onto your skin. Their bites (about the size of a pinhead) are completely painless, but they bleed a lot and sometimes itch as they heal.
Keeping leeches off isn’t easy; they can get through all but the closest-mesh fabrics. Tights work (but get very hot), though some guides recommend simply wearing open shoes and shorts, so that you can see them – an approach that requires an advanced jungle mentality.
The quickest way to remove a leech is to repeatedly flick its head end with your fingernail. Otherwise salt, tiger balm or tobacco juice, rubbed onto the leech, will cause them to let go rapidly.
Malaysia boasts plenty of newspapers, TV channels and radio stations serving up lively reportage of events, sports and entertainment, though don’t expect to come across hard-hitting or healthily sceptical coverage of domestic politics. The major media organizations are at least partly owned by the government.
Furthermore, the media are kept on their toes by a legal requirement that they must periodically renew their licence to publish. Thus the Sarawak Tribune was suspended indefinitely in 2006 after it reproduced the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad; only in 2010 did it resume publication as the New Sarawak Tribune.
Given these circumstances, it’s no surprise that in the 2011/12 Press Freedom Index, issued by the pressure group Reporters Without Borders, Malaysia was far down the rankings at no. 122 – below much poorer nations not exactly noted for being exemplars of free speech, such as Mongolia and Lesotho. B
Foreign newspapers and magazines are sold in the main cities, and international TV channels are available via satellite and cable. That said, issues of foreign magazines containing pieces that displease the authorities have occasionally been banned.
If this all seems an unremittingly bleak picture, it should be said that coverage of Malaysia’s opposition parties has increased since they took power in several states in the 2008 general election. Furthermore, the advent of independent news websites and blogs has been a breath of fresh air in Malaysia. Elsewhere in cyberspace, it’s possible to turn up various YouTube clips of discussion forums and interviews with activists, offering an alternative take on local issues.
Newspapers, magazines and online news
Malaysia has English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil newspapers. Though Malaysia’s national dailies are available in towns in east Malaysia, locally published English-language papers such as the Borneo Post in Sarawak (wtheborneopost.com) and the Daily Express in Sabah (wdailyexpress.com.my) are more popular there.
- Aliran Monthly wwww.aliran.com. Campaigning magazine with an avowed pro-human-rights stance.
- Malaysia Insider wwww.themalaysiainsider.com. Considered more moderate than some of its online counterparts, the Insider provides intelligent news and commentary in English and Malay.
- Malaysia Today wwww.malaysia-today.net. This news website and blog was thrust into the international spotlight after the man behind it, Raja Petra Kamarudin, was interned under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act for two months in 2008.
- Malaysiakini wwww.malaysiakini.com. Invigorating reportage and opinion with an anti-establishment slant.
- New Straits Times wwww.nst.com.my. Closely linked to the UMNO party, this offshoot of Singapore’s Straits Times was created after the island separated from the Federation. A tabloid, it offers a broad range of news, sports and arts coverage.
- Sarawak Report wwww.sarawakreport.org. Not a Malaysian site – it’s run out of London – but worth a look for its hard-hitting coverage of issues such as logging, native peoples’ rights and the probity of Sarawak’s government.
- The Star wwww.thestar.com.my. Founded by the MCA party, The Star is Malaysia’s best-selling English daily and has a separate Sarawak edition.
Television and radio
TV and radio in Malaysia is dominated by state-owned broadcaster RTM, which puts out programmes in several languages. Terrestrial television features an unexceptional mix of news, documentaries and dramas made locally and abroad, cookery and talk shows, Islamic discussions and so forth; radio is even less original and tends to be dominated by pop music and talk shows. Various foreign TV channels, including CNN, BBC World, National Geographic, ESPN Sports and Al Jazeera (which has its East Asian base in KL), are available on cable and satellite in Malaysia.
- Cats FM wwww.catsfm.my. Kuching-based FM station offering music plus Sarawakian news; see the website for frequencies around the state.
- RTM1 & RTM2 wwww.rtm.gov.my. Malaysia’s staple state-owned TV channels, with some programming in English, Chinese and Tamil. News in English is broadcast on RTM2 at 8pm daily.
- Traxxfm wwww.traxxfm.net. Established RTM station with a mix of news and music in English, available on various frequencies around the Peninsula.
- TV3 wwww.tv3.com.my. English and Malay news, drama and documentaries, plus some Chinese programmes. Along with the youth-oriented channels NTV7, 8TV and TV9, it’s part of the same conglomerate as the New Straits Times.
- XFresh wwww.xfm.com.my. A good station for home-grown pop and rock music in Malay and English, though the patter is in Malay only. Audible in cities nationwide.
Drugs: a warning
In Malaysia, the possession of illegal drugs – hard or soft – carries a hefty prison sentence or even the death penalty. If you are arrested for drugs offences you can expect no mercy from the authorities and little help from your consular representatives. The simple advice, therefore, is not to have anything to do with drugs in any of these countries. Never agree to carry anything through customs for a third party.