Malaysian world records: 10 crazy achievements, from pulling a train with teeth to breaking eggs

While Malaysia has some cool world achievements under its belt, it’s also got some that are just plain weird.

Here are 10 of the country’s most notable entries in the Guinness Book of World Records.

1. The world’s oldest prime minister (2018)

Following Pakatan Harapan’s shock victory over incumbents Barisan National at the 14th General Election last year, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad became the world’s current oldest prime minister at the grand age of 92 years and 304 days.

The now 94-year-old, who still holds the position, beat the previous record holder, Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, who was 84 years old when he died in 2005.

Mahathir, who was born on July 10, 1925 (although his birth certificate says December 20 – his biographer, Barry Wain, says that December 20 was an “arbitrary” date chosen by Mahathir’s father for official purposes), was previously Malaysia’s PM between 1981 and 2003 – meaning he was 56 when he was first appointed.

The title of the oldest PM to be appointed for the first time is former India Prime Minister Morarji Ranchhodji Desai, who was 81 when he assumed office in 1977.

2. The world’s biggest banknote (2017)

The largest legal banknotes in the world were made by Bank Negara Malaysia on December 29, 2017, and measure 22cm by 37cm (about 9 inches by 15 inches). Only 6,000 of the notes were created to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Federation of Malaya Independence Act.

Each note is technically RM600 (US$143), but their actual sale value was RM1,700. One note even sold for as much as RM78,000 at an auction, with bidders from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia, Malaysian newspaper The Star reported.

3. The world’s heaviest train pulled using teeth (2003)

On October 18, 2003, Velu Rathakrishnan shocked the world by using nothing but his teeth to pull two KTM commuter trains weighing 260.8 tonnes.

Velu, a vegetarian Hindu nicknamed “King Tooth”, pulled the trains for 4.2 metres along the railway tracks at Kuala Lumpur Railway Station.

He told reporters that he got his strength from an Indian form of meditation. According to an AP report, Velu woke up at 4.30am every day to do jaw training, lift 250 kilograms of weights, and run for at least 25 kilometres.

His next tooth-pulling exploit is to pull an Airbus A380, weighing at least 277 tonnes, in April next year.

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4. The world’s fastest man to pierce four coconuts with one finger (2011)

Johor martial arts master Ho Eng Hui created a world record when he managed to pierce the husks of four coconuts with his index finger in 12.15 seconds until the water inside them flowed out.

Ho – then aged 58 – performed the feat on the set of the Lo Show Dei Record television series in Milan on April 21, 2011. The coconuts had been removed from their trees for at least 10 days, Guinness World Records said.

Ho, who learned about one-finger martial arts from his Singaporean qi gong master, Choo Kong Leong, told The Star that he started training by jabbing banana tree trunks at the age of 17, before moving on to cardboard boxes and then young coconuts.

He broke his finger three times in the past while attempting the feat.

5. The world’s tallest airport control tower (2013)

For avid aviation fans, Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport is the place to be: KLIA2 Air Traffic Control Tower (also dubbed Tower West) stands at a record-breaking height of 133.8 metres.

Built in 2013 as part of the new KLIA2 terminal, the tower has 33 storeys and cost RM55 million to construct. The previous record holder, Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport air traffic control tower, comes in just slightly shorter, at 132.2m tall.

6. The world’s largest number of eggs crushed using a wrist in 30 seconds (2005)

Restaurant assistant Balakrishnan Sivasamy became a world record holder in 2005 after crushing 25 eggs with his wrist in half a minute.

The 25-year-old Indian national, who worked at a restaurant in Ipoh, put the eggs on the back of his wrist and bent his fingers backwards to break them, The Star reported.

To achieve this feat, he practised for a month by breaking 10,000 eggs – all of which his employer, Abdul Kader Muhammad, paid for.

While Balakrishnan might hold the record for most eggs crushed with the wrist, he has competition: Dutch national Tijl Beckand holds the record for most eggs crushed with the head (70), while American Tyler Toney holds the record for most eggs crushed with the toes (45).

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7. The world’s fastest person to run a mile balancing a football on his head (2010)

Malaysian teen Low Yee Ming kept a football perched on his head while covering a one-mile (1.6-kilometre) distance in eight minutes and 35 seconds in Selangor’s MPSJ Stadium.

Low, then aged 19, finished the entire mile without once losing control of the ball, though the rules allow contenders to drop it once.

The teen, who previously attended the football academy at Newcastle-under-Lyme College in the UK, was accompanied by his best friend as a guide. He told The Star that he spent a year training to balance the ball on his head.

In 2012, Low held the record for the longest distance covered while balancing a football on his head (11.129km), but was beaten by Indian Manoj Mishra in 2016 with a distance of 49.17km.

8. The world’s longest LAN party (2009)

Gamers, this one’s for you: the longest marathon LAN party ever held lasted 40 hours in Cyberjaya’s Multimedia University as part of annual gaming event Cyber Fusion.

The event’s 291 participants, who hailed from Malaysia, China, Yemen, Brunei and Korea, played defence of the Ancients, Call of Duty 4, Fifa ’09, and Sudden Attack.

Despite hitting the 36 hours required to break the record, the participants decided to continue playing to hit the 40-hour mark. Each participant was allowed a five-minute break for each hour of gaming.

By the end of the event, 17 players had dropped out due to reasons including fatigue. Most participants were aged between 19 and 25, Guinness World Records said.

9. The world’s highest number of costume change illusions in one minute (2017)

Malaysian magicians Avery Chin and Sylvia Lim managed 24 costume change illusions in one minute at an event in Penang’s George Town in honour of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Federation of Malaya Independence Act.

Even with strict rules that each new outfit must not contain any traces of the previous one, Lim was able to switch to a new outfit every 2.5 seconds on average.

Two years later, the pair also broke the record for the most number of costume change illusions in 30 seconds.

10. The world’s largest number of people dressed as cats (2017)

Call Malaysians cat crazy, but the country won this world record after amassing a gathering of 440 people dressed as cats at the Asean Film Festival and Awards in Kuching (which, incidentally, sounds like the Malay word for cat).

Many of the participants were excited schoolchildren, Guinness World Records said.

According to the rules, the cat costume had to cover a person’s whole body, and include whiskers, ears and a tail.

Think this a weird accomplishment? Other world records include the largest gathering of people dressed as rabbits, trees, snowmen, ghosts and Superman.