UCA seeks to break world record in calligraphy event

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SIBU: The United Chinese Association (UCA) Sibu Division is attempting to smash its way into the Guinness World Records for the ‘Largest Calligraphy Lesson’, with the submission of the event that was held at UniCity (Jalan Wawasan) here last Sunday that attracted a massive 6,140 participants.

In an interview with reporters from The Borneo Post and Utusan Borneo here, UCA president Kong Hian Khim said they had satisfied all the requirements and were now preparing documents and reports as well as video recordings to be submitted to London, adding that the historic event was organised by UCA.

The feat was witnessed by Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Datuk Tiong Thai King, Sibu Resident Hii Chang Kee, Dong Zong chairman Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau and lawyer Tony Hii.

The current record was created in Bayan Hushu, near Inner Mongolia in September last year, which attracted 1,260 participants.

“We have fulfilled the conditions, among them were two teachers – one explaining what Chinese calligraphy is all about and the other on how to write calligraphy; there was a bell to mark the start and end of the hour-long lesson. We also had registration counters (signing and bar-coding), a single entrance for participants and photographs of stewards ensuring that participants were learning Chinese calligraphy when the lesson commenced.

“Actually, UCA carries out the calligraphy activity every year as this is the traditional art and culture of the Chinese. But this time around, with our (UCA) 40th anniversary and Visit Sibu Year 2017 – we made it as an attempt to achieve the world record in calligraphy.

“So, with the assistance and cooperation from many organisations including the SMC, Sibu Resident’s Office, police and army, we’re very pleased to announce that a total number of 6,140 participants were bar-coded and registered. We did our level best to meet all the required conditions and hopefully, we would be recognised by Guinness World Records for the feat,” Kong elaborated.

He pointed out that the initial number of participants recorded through barcode and signatures totalled 6,533, but 393 or about six per cent of them had to be disqualified, leaving 6,140 qualified for the event.

He learned from the 100 army officers, who doubled up as stewards (supervisors), that this group (393 participants) was disqualified either for not writing during or for not completing the one-hour lesson.

Adding on, he pointed out that they had to fulfil certain requirements to enter the Guinness World Records, with the number of participants, performing the feat in an enclosed area (they used barricades to seal the area) and registration being among the criteria.

“We had so many registration points – when participants came in, they had to sign and we would give them a barcode. They all had to come in via one entrance. When they came in, we gave them a number, which was stuck on their shirts. After that, they had to go through barcode screening and that was how we came up with the number 6,533. Only those going through the entrance and screened with barcode would be counted.

“Because this was a lesson, we had the area barricaded – in other words, it was enclosed. We considered it as a learning area, making it classroom-style. We had two teachers on stage — one (Hu Siew Long) explaining what’s Chinese calligraphy and another (Wong Ngee Ing) to demonstrate how to write it,” he explained the process.

All these activities were captured on video and projected on four big screens so that the participants could learn what was taught, he added.

Kong said the timekeeper kept track of the time and when the one hour was up, the bell was rung to signify that the lesson was over, after which the participants showed what they had written.

He highlighted that the eight Chinese characters that the participants worked on meant ‘The country is prosperous and the people live in a harmonious and peaceful environment’.

“We were also very pleased that more than 10 per cent, or 400 to 500, of the participants were non-Chinese, which signified that we’re truly a multi-racial society in the spirit of 1Malaysia. Other races are trying to understand our culture, especially the calligraphy – this promotes racial harmony through the understanding of each other’s culture.

“At UCA, we are always trying to bring out something which is good to the society.”

Kong then reiterated: “We are trying very hard to satisfy all the conditions required. Hopefully we would achieve the feat and be recognised by World Guinness Records for having conducted the largest calligraphy lesson in the world.”

UCA honorary advisor Datuk Toh Chiew Hock, Temenggong Datuk Wan Hamid Edruce and Sibu police chief ACP Saiful Bahri also came to see the record attempt.