We did it!: SJK(T) Masai teachers posing with their certificates after the 12-hour-long history presentation.
JOHOR BARU: A Tamil school here has made its way into the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) for presenting the country’s history for 12 hours continuously.
SJK(T) Masai headmaster M. Vijayan said 663 people, comprising students, teachers, school staffers and parents, took part in the presentation on June 15.
“We started the presentation at about 7.30am and ended it at around 8.20pm. During the presentation, each participant spoke for a few minutes about the history of Malaysia in Bahasa Malaysia before passing the microphone to the next person.
“A total of 598 students, including 16 preschoolers and two special needs students, took part in the presentation.
“We were also able to rope in eight school staff members, including a canteen operator and four representatives from the parent-teacher association (PTA), as well as 53 teachers,” he said in an interview.
He added that the idea for the history presentation was mooted around November last year as a way to include all students and teachers in a single grand event.
“Normally, we can only send a small number of selected students to take part in competitions or events outside of school and this has caused many students to miss out on such opportunities.
“The history presentation was a way for us to give all students a chance to be a part of something special together. We also incorporated a competition where we gave prizes to the top three speakers from each class,” he said.
He said the history presentation also allowed students to improve their writing skills in the Bahasa Melayu subject and boost their confidence through public speaking.
“Most of the students wrote their own speeches for the presentation except for preschoolers and those in Years One and Two
“They had to do their own research and write the speech based on the topic given by teachers.
“Once the speech was finalised, the students had to memorise it and practise presenting in front of a crowd,” he said.
Vijayan said that he was proud of the school’s achievement and was thankful for the support of all parties, from the students to the teachers and parents.
“Parents were very supportive of this endeavour and were very much involved in the whole process.
“They trained their children at home as part of the preparation for the presentation,” he said.
