PBT USM successfully attracted people of different races to challenge The Record of Longest Calligraphy in Malaysia

 By Chong Wan Chi

MAIN CAMPUS, 26 April - The “Challenge to Record the Longest Calligraphy Record in Malaysia” organized by the Siri Persembahan Pentas PBT USM has involved 1,000 people of all ethnic groups and foreigners, who spent 3 days writing more than 12,000 words to create the longest record in Malaysia. The 2.68 kilometres of calligraphy has been successfully included in the Malaysian Book of Records.

USM’s workers are very interested in calligraphy and wrote 5 idioms on red paper. Photo Chong Wan Chi

According to the President of Siri Persembahan Pentas PBT USM, Choo Xuan Ping, Social Sciences 4, the event was conducted outside Dewan Tuanku Syed Putra (DTSP), USM, from 22 until 24 April. After the Ministry of Education Malaysia approved the event, they invited many Penang high school students. 

“We opened it to the general public and international students to participate in writing good wishes and idioms on red paper, regardless of race, to work together to break the record,” Choo explained.

The Vice President of Siri Persembahan Pentas PBT USM, Mook Siew Theng, said they aspire to demonstrate the fundamental importance of diversity in our country by conveying its rich cultural heritage and fostering unity and diverse social interactions through this cultural event.

“In addition to expressing multiculturalism, this activity themed “Prelude: Naga’s Quil” is also a pre-event intended to warm up the 2023/2024 Siri Persembahan Pentas PBT USM to be held on 8 June with the theme of ‘Genesis’,” Mook continued. 

The Head of Department Publicity, Zeon Tay Jun Sen, highlighted that the ‘Prelude’ describes the beginning or introduction of an upcoming event or essential event, paving the way for Siri Persembahan Pentas PBT USM 23/24. 

“The ‘Naga’ in Malay means dragon, and ‘Quill’ also refers to the quill or pen used in traditional calligraphy, which is closely related to the warm-up activity,” Zeon said.

Choo also emphasized that in this increasingly extreme society, we use culture to embrace diversity and prove to everyone that culture should be cross-racial, no matter you or me. Judging from the data of our participants, more than 40% of the fact that participants were non-Chinese shows whether the event was successful.