Teachers And Students Asked To "Practice" Clapping Everyday For 5 Minutes
"If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!"
By Tang Ruxyn — 27 May 2016, 01:59 PM
A video that shows a group of teachers and students clapping their hands, which is believed to be a "training session" has gone viral on social media
It was reported that the 52-second video that was circulated on social media channels such as Facebook and WhatsApp, is a snippet of what the teachers and students were doing in a school in Terengganu.
They were allegedly carrying out a "training session", whereby everyone has to clap their hands for a good five minutes daily.
Besides the video, a screenshot of a message calling for "hand-clapping" exercises to be conducted in schools statewide, went viral around the same time the video surfaced on social media sites
"I request you to carry out clapping exercises tomorrow for five minutes so teachers get used to clapping their hands... train them (during) every assembly and show me photographic proof... I request action, ladies and gentlemen... no exceptions," read the message which was originally written in Bahasa Melayu.
The media and masses have identified Education Department director Shafruddin Ali Hussin as the person who had sent out the message on "clapping exercises"
The Star Online reported that Shafruffin has confirmed that he was the one who wrote the message but stressed that it was a "request", not an order.
“It was a request for them to clap their hands to liven up official events and such values would be followed by other students,” Shafruddin was quoted saying at a news conference in Kuala Terengganu yesterday, 26 May.
The message reportedly came after Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman commented on the lack of support shown by teachers when they clapped their hands during a recent Teacher's Day function.
However, Ahmad Razif has clarified that his comment was only meant as a joke
"It was a mere joke. I never thought the issue would have taken such a twist," the told The Star Online.
The English daily also reported that about five school heads said they were carrying out the “clapping instruction” from Shafruddin.
A teacher who wished to remain anonymous reportedly claimed that the school teachers had "no choice" but to follow the instructions given.
The incident led some people to draw comparison with North Korean, where apparently citizens only applaud their leader Kim Jong-un to avoid being killed in a public execution
Last year, the world received a revelation on why Kim Jong-un, who is notoriously regarded as a dictator, seemed to always receive an over-enthusiastic round of applause whenever he makes a speech at his rallies.
'You have to do it because you don't want to die," a former North Korean soldier revealed.
Members of the public in Malaysia has criticised the "request" from Shafruddin, saying that Malaysia should not be emulating North Korea, where people are "trained" to clap their hands to celebrate something.