1Malaysia Reading Camp

Class activity: (From left) Bessey, Azura and Struys roleplaying with students during the reading campaign at SMK Seksyen 9, Shah Alam.

SHAH ALAM: More than one million students from 2,278 schools set aside 33 minutes and 30 seconds to read together simultaneously yesterday as part of Scholastic Malaysia's READ 2012 reading campaign.

The campaign, in its fifth year, broke last year's record with a 56% increase in student participation. But that was not its goal, as it aimed at promoting better reading habits.

Scholastic Asia-Pacific Education and Trade vice-president Linda Warfelsaid the reading campaign was part of Scholastic's desire to promote reading not just for academic purposes but also for recreation.

“When Scholastic turned 90, we decided to advocate reading seriously because reading is a cornerstone for the development of a child's communication skills, imagination and creativity,” she said.

Some local celebrities showed their support as READ 2012 ambassadors and read with the students at SMK Seksyen 9, Shah Alam.

TV host and Emcee Azura Zainal of Disney Channel fame said it was her second year of involvement in READ, and in previous years the main event was held in primary schools.

“This is the first time a secondary school is hosting it and I must say reading with an older audience is a different experience,” she said.

Azura added that she was nervous in the beginning, but after she and seasoned actress Joanna Bessey got the students to participate in their reading session, it became a breeze.

“We roleplayed as we read and we got the students to roleplay, too. I was surprised at how animated they were. Their enthusiasm was amazing,” she said.

Bessey said it helped that the books they used for the storytelling session came from the Hunger Games series.

“It's a lot easier to connect with the students with a book that is currently trending among teenagers since its content is geared toward their age group,” she said.

Other celebrities who became storytellers for the day were Sharifah Amani and mother, Fatimah Abu Bakar, Jojo Struys and Colin Kirton.

The campaign held in conjunction with the 1Malaysia Reading Camp was officiated by Education deputy director-general Sufaat Tumin who said that reading was key to becoming a developed nation.