JB school breaks Guinness World Record for ukulele playing lesson

JOHOR BARU: The ukulele is not a popular instrument in Malaysia, not by far.

But, SJK (C) Kuo Kuang 2 seems to be singlehandedly changing all that.

The school today broke the Guinness World Record for the most number of participants in a 30-minute ukulele playing lesson with 2,869 of its students taking part.

And it could have been more, too, as five students were disqualified.

Brian Sobel, a representative of Guinness World Records headquarters in London, officially announced the record, saying that it was previously held by a school in Japan with 2,400 participants in 2014.

“The five students were disqualified because some of them had to go on a bathroom break while others did not give their full attention to the lesson.

“Every attempt to break a world record comes with a set of guidelines and rules that the participants need to follow and it is something that is stressed on.

“Even though there were some that were disqualified, 2,869 students successfully finished the lesson,” he told reporters after the lesson at the school’s main hall.

Also present were Education Ministry sports and art education division deputy director Razuki A. Rahim and school principal Teo Boong Sai.

During the lesson, students were given instruction on various aspects of the ukulele, including basic lessons on playing the instrument.

Razuki said it proved that schools in Malaysia had the ability and students who were talented in all aspects, including sports and music.

“This achievement in breaking a world record will hopefully be a catalyst for other schools to achieve success on the international stage,” he said.