Unique Guinness World Records held by Malaysia
Malaysia is no stranger to Guinness World Records – we have bragging rights to the tallest twin buildings and the largest hotel in the world. And that’s just some of it. Our nation has set some pretty unique world records too.
From pulling a train by teeth to piercing coconuts with just a finger, here are 15 awe-inspiring and outlandishly-awesome Guinness World Records that are proudly held by Malaysians.
Table of Contents
- Unique Guinness World Records held by Malaysia
- 1. The most dice stacked on a cat’s paw
- 2. The most eggs crushed with the wrist in 30 seconds
- 3. The heaviest train pulled by teeth
- 4. The most weddings attended as best man
- 5. The fastest time to pierce four coconuts with one finger
- 6. The largest gathering of people dressed as Spider-Man
- 7. The longest line of nasi lemak bungkus
- 8. The fastest marathon dressed as a flag
- 9. The largest serving of stir-fried rice noodles
- 10. The largest gathering of people dressed as cats
- 11. The largest building in the shape of a dragon fruit
- 12. The longest chain of people clasping wrists
- 13. The largest food truck rally
- 14. The longest LAN Party
- 15. The largest silat lesson
1. The most dice stacked on a cat’s paw
Image credit: Guinness World Records via Facebook
Bibi is not like the other cats in Malaysia. The feline holds the Guinness World Record for the most dice stacked on a cat’s paw. Siew Lian Chui from Puchong, Selangor, became a proud pet parent after stacking a total of 10 dice on Bibi’s tiny paw, achieving the world record on 18th June 2017.
As random and as wacky as it sounds, Bibi was able to balance the dice on a single steady, with photos to prove the outlandish attempt.
2. The most eggs crushed with the wrist in 30 seconds
Image credit: Malaysia Book of Records via Facebook
Cracking an egg is a piece of cake for most of us. But it’s safe to say that not everyone can do it with just their wrist and beat the clock like Balakrishnan Sivasamy did on 20th September 2005. The Malaysian man, who worked at Restaurant Naina Mohamed in Ipoh, egg-cellently crushed 25 eggs in 30 seconds. He did so by placing them on the back of his wrist and bending his fingers backwards to break the shells.
The unique way of cracking eggs and speed earned him the Guinness World Record for the most eggs crushed with the wrist in 30 seconds. His record still stands the test of time, proving just how difficult it is to achieve.
3. The heaviest train pulled by teeth
Image credit: Guinness World Records
Velu Rathakrishnan is dubbed ‘King Tooth’ for a good reason. He holds the Guinness World Record for the heaviest train pulled by teeth. Yes, you read that right. Teeth.
On 18th October 2003, he jaw-droppingly pulled two KTM commuter trains weighing 260.8 tonnes with just his teeth, covering a 4.2-metre distance at KL Railway Station. In interviews with the curious media, Velu attributed his strength to a strict workout that included jaw exercises and an Indian form of meditation.
4. The most weddings attended as best man
Image credit: Andy Ting via YouTube
27 Dresses’ fictional protagonist was a bridesmaid for an impressive 27 weddings. Proving that sometimes fact is stranger than fiction, Ting Ming Siong from Sarawak holds the Guinness World Record for the most weddings attended as best man.
The busy man attended a whopping 1,445 weddings as a best man between September 1975 and February 2009, and was recognised for his duties in the wedding party on 26th February 2009.
While it sounds like a full-time job already, he actually works as a barber and part-time noodle vendor. His record attendance was 16 weddings in a month, as he shared in an interview with the LA Times.
5. The fastest time to pierce four coconuts with one finger
Image credit: Avenue King
Regular people will use a knife to tackle hard fruits like coconuts. But Ho Eng Hui, aka Master Ho, can pierce a hard coconut with just one finger. To set a Guinness World Record, the Malaysian ‘Kung Fu King’ pierced four coconuts with his index finger in the span of just 12.15 seconds, making him the record holder of the fastest man to pierce four coconuts with a finger.
For this record, the GWR judging committee ruled that each coconut is defined as pierced once the coconut’s water content pours out. The coconuts have to be removed from the tree for a period of at least 10 days in advance too.
6. The largest gathering of people dressed as Spider-Man
Image credit: The Star
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s 685 Malaysians dressed as Spider-Man in a mall. On 5th June 2023, Malaysia broke a record set by India for the largest gathering of people dressed as Spider-Man in one place, upping the ante from 601 to 685.
The record was achieved at Klang’s Aeon Mall, to celebrate the release of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. There have been reports that Argentina attempted to beat this record in October 2023 with 1,000 Spidey-suited individuals, but according to the Guinness World Records’ website, Malaysia is still the record holder.
7. The longest line of nasi lemak bungkus
Image credit: Guinness World Records
Nasi lemak is our unofficial national dish, and our love for it is proven with this Guinness World Record we hold: the longest line of nasi lemak bungkus. That’s a total of 11,315 packets of nasi lemak to be precise.
The uniquely Malaysian record was achieved on 24th August 2013 in Sunway Pyramid. Each pack of nasi lemak followed a strict set of requirements – it had to have a quarter cup rice, a cucumber slice, half a boiled egg, and a spoonful of sambal belacan. It also had to be wrapped traditionally in banana leaves.
And if you’re wondering what happened to all the food in the end, around 7,000 packets of the nasi lemak were distributed to various charities and churches, while others were given out to shoppers.
8. The fastest marathon dressed as a flag
Image credit: Guinness World Records
Running a marathon is difficult as it is. But Mohd Syahidan bin Alias decided to dress up in a Jalur Gemilang costume while competing in a marathon, achieving a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a flag (male) in the process.
Syahidan completed the race in 2 hours, 54 minutes, and 34 seconds at the 2018 Blackmores’ Sydney Running Festival in Australia. The achievement was no walk in the park for the elite marathon runner – his arms had to be kept inside the flag costume throughout the race.
He decided to wear the Jalur Gemilang in honour of Malaysia Day, which coincided with the race.
9. The largest serving of stir-fried rice noodles
Image credit: Guinness World Records
On 18th May 2023, forty-four chefs in Johor did the unthinkable – they whipped up the largest serving of stir-fried rice noodles that weighed in at exactly 365.87 kg from 10 woks. To put this into perspective, their serving of char kuey teow was about the same weight of an average adult cow and the heaviest person in medical history.
10. The largest gathering of people dressed as cats
Image credit: Guinness World Records
The folks of Sarawak’s capital Kuching proudly embrace their status as a kucing-loving city, with prominent statues and museum dedicated to the cat as attractions there. Another cat-related feather in their hat is their Guinness World Record held for the largest gathering of people dressed as cats.
A record total of 440 people donned their best cat costumes at the ASEAN International Film Festival and Awards in Sarawak, on 4th May 2017.
11. The largest building in the shape of a dragon fruit
On a dragon fruit plantation out in Sepang, there happens to sit the largest building in the shape of a dragon fruit. Measuring around 30 feet in height and width, the realistic structure at HL Dragon Fruit Eco Farm was confirmed to be the largest in its category on 21st September 2023. Not just for show, the building holds a gallery with history of the farm.
12. The longest chain of people clasping wrists
Image credit: Guinness World Records
We didn’t come up with this record, but we happen to be current holders of it. On 29th September 2016, Pakistan set the Guinness World Record for the longest chain of people clasping wrists with 2,950 individuals. But then mighty Malaysians took the crown for the same record with the participation of 4,222 people a year later.
The wrist-clasping event in Malaysia took place in Negeri Sembilan, at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium on 19th August 2017. Dignitaries from the Negeri Sembilan state government were part of the world record attempt.
13. The largest food truck rally
Image credit: X
Proving our love for street food, Malaysia set the Guinness World Record for the largest food truck rally on 28th April 2018. A sum of158 vehicles gathered in the nation’s food paradise, Penang, for the Penang International Food Festival, beating the previous record of 123 vehicles.
The food trucks part of the festival sold a wide variety of foods, from local Malaysian dishes such as nasi dagang and kukus berempah to international foods such as pizza and takoyaki.
14. The longest LAN Party
Image credit: The Star
Hardcore gamers can tell you all about the long hours they’ve spent gaming at LAN parties. But nothing can compare to this group of gamers, who played games non-stop for 40 hours to set a Guinness World Record for the longest LAN party.
The achievement was clocked in at Cyberjaya’s Multimedia University. It was completed by 274 gamers from Malaysia, China, Yemen, Brunei and Korea, who played non-stop from 11th to 12th April 2009. Most of the participants of the LAN party were between the ages of 19 and 25.
15. The largest silat lesson
Image credit: Guinness World Records
Silat is a traditional form of self-defense that’s practiced as martial arts or accompanied by the beat of drums as part of a ceremonial dance. On 29th August 2015, a whopping total of 12,393 participants from Malaysia and across the world gathered for the largest silat lesson, as confirmed by the Guinness World Records.
The lesson was directed by Grandmaster Syeikh Dr. Md Radzi Hanafi, at Stadium Merdeka in KL.
Unique Guinness World Records that are held by Malaysia
Despite being citizens of a relatively small country, anak Malaysians have proven time after time how amazing they are with their achievements on the global stage – no matter how fun or unique they are, they are shining examples of how Malaysia truly boleh.
Cover image adapted from: Avenue King, Guinness World Records via Facebook, China Daily
This article was first published on 29th March 2022, and updated on 23rd August 2024.