College students figure prominently among the 17 young women vying for the coveted title of Miss Malaysia/Universe 2013, the grand finals of which is slated for this December at the S P Setia Convention Centre in Setia Alam, Selangor.
The finalists were announced yesterday by Miss Malaysia/Universe 2004 Andrea Fonseka who’s now national director of the Miss Universe Malaysia Organisation (MUMO), at a press conference at Setia Eco Park in Setia Alam.
They are sales representative Angely Yew aged 25, marketing executive Carey Ng (23), college student Chammaine Tan (20), public relations officer Jassinta Mirasol (25), college student Karissa Simon (23), fashion/beauty writer Kelsey Rabindran (23), college graduate Leanndrea Paramaraj (21), college graduate Marissa Paramaraj (22), college graduate May Salitah Naru Kiob (24), biotechnologist Naomi Chandrasegar (24), college graduate Natalia Ng Mei Mei (24), makeup artist Rice Hing Zhiyu (21), high school graduate Samantha James (18), college graduate Sarah Schipper (25), law student Shareeta Selvaraj (22), college-student Symren Kaur (20) and medical student Trisha Tuck (20).
The winner will receive a monthly salary from MUMO and more than RM200,000 in prizes.
Also, the top four finalists will each receive a full scholarship from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology to pursue any course of their choosing while the remaining finalists will receive a 50 per cent scholarship from the university.
Also present at the Press conference yesterday were 2010 winner Nadine Anne Thomas, 2011 winner Deborah Henry and reigning 2012 queen Kimberley Leggett.
“These 17 finalists have already come a long way to emerge top amongst all the hundreds of applications sent in,” said Fonseka who conducted auditions for the pageant from June this year.
“We are proud that many of the 2012 finalists are doing well. Miss Malaysia/Universe 2012 second runner-up Boon Lu Xanne is now a motivational speaker while third runnerup Juanita Ramayah is now a radio deejay for a major radio station. To put it simply, being in the pageant has been lifechanging for these girls.”
This year’s pageant here will have a reality TV series format similar to last year, but with some exciting twists. The series, called The Next Miss Universe Malaysia, will see the finalists living together in a BeautyCamp bungalow in Bandar Setia Alam, the official venue sponsor for the pageant.
“The series will be aired in six episodes on 8TV later this year before the grand finals.
Viewers will get to vote for their favourite finalist via SMS. The fan votes will account for 30 per cent of each finalist’s total score during judging at the grand finals,” said Fonseka.
