Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards (IMSHA) winner, Johor Bahru Happy and Joyous Club (JBHJC) celebrated its 16th annual World Laughter Day (WLD), at FGS Hsing Ma Si, Taman Sutera Utama, with the presence of ADUN Skudai, Marina Ibrahim, along with SJK(C) Kuo Kuang 2, Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Sutera, Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Tun Aminah, and Johor Bahru Special Needs School.
Starting the day with some laughter exercise and dancing, the group continued its laughter fit with a performance by the club’s member, Kelina Khedlly Koh with her sweet serenade for world peace and two numbers of dances by a Michael Jackson impersonator, much to the delight of the crowd.
Marina Ibrahim said in her speech that she is glad to see the diverse group that has come together to celebrate a very joyful day, citing that this is the significance of unity among the people of Malaysia. Involved in the whole activities during the celebration, Marina also wishes for the people to laugh a lot that day, as she understood it would help to alleviate stress on a daily basis.
The popular annual activity for WLD, the search for Laughter Prince and Princess among students, and Laughter Queen and King among the adults, was the highlight of the day, where they crowned Haley Chow Yi Chen, 12, from SJK(C) Kuo Kuang 2 as Laughter Princess and Rukesh Rao A/L Kalaiyarasu, 11, from SJK(T) Taman Tun Aminah as Laughter Prince while the Laughter Queen’s crown went to Goh Sook Hong, 54, and Laughter King to Lai Yoon Moon, 57. Not only do they laugh to win, but they have also created another wave of laughter among the spectators who were entertained to see contesting participants laughing in different styles each for 30 seconds.
Final activities included interactive drum circle and laughter train led by JBHJC’s Clown Director, Maggie Chong.
Meena from SJK(T) Taman Tun Aminah said she had fun, and learnt a lot during the celebration. She plans to let her colleagues and the rest of the school know that laughter is the best medicine to handle stress.
Chairperson Koh Mui Cheng, when interviewed, said they got to laugh together with 220 participants, including their club members who have both organised and attended the Hsing Ma Si ground as early as 6am to greet the students and teachers for the joy of laughing.
The celebration then continued in the afternoon; online with the presence of the Laughter Yoga founder himself, Dr Madan Kataria and his partner, Madhuri.
Many countries participated in the online celebration where each country representative performed their specialty to stay laughing during the stream that was open for the public to join. According to the club, the online celebration was set at 100 participants per session – the maximum, and they had hit that limit for WLD.
JBHJC could help you bring in laughter in your space too. Get in touch with them via their Facebook Page, and they can organise a session of learning how to benefit from laughter at your own space or you could join them in their daily online laughing session in the morning, hosted via their FB page.
Happy World Laughter Day!