Thomas TanSabah beauties made a clean sweep winning first, second and third place in the Miss Grand Malaysia 2018 pageant final held at Grand Pacific Ballroom, Evolve Concept Mall in Petaling Jaya on 12 May 2018.
Debra Jeanne Poh, a promising 22-year-old logistic assistant from Labuan took the Miss Grand Malaysia 2018 crown home. She was handed the crown by last year’s winner Sanjeda John.
With this win, Debra will represent Malaysia at the Miss Grand International 2018 grand final to be held in Myanmar on 25 Oct 2018.
The 171 cm (5 feet 7 inches) tall lass who is of mixed Sino-Dusun, Filipino and Spanish parentage, was also named one of the three recipients of The National Director Advocacy Excellence Award. The two other recipients were Kate Cantwell and Caithlin Supang. These recipients were awarded for their outstanding advocacy achievement throughout the journey to the national pageant. Miss Grand Malaysia (MGM) national director Jude Benjamin presented the award.
First runner-up and Miss Social Media were awarded to Kate Cantwell, 20, a trainee golfer from Papar, second runner-up was awarded to Scarlett Megan Liew, 23, from Penampang, who also bagged two other awards – Best in Swimwear and Miss Popular by Public.
The fourth spot went to Taanusiya Veerapandian, 18, a student from Kuala Lumpur and finishing fifth was Rachel Chin, 19 a personal assistant from Miri, Sarawak who also picked up the Best in Evening Gown award.
The five top-notch finalists out did 19 other finalists from all over the country where they were judged on swimwear, evening wear and Q&A at the event.
Citizen Journalists Malaysia (CJMY) caught up with newly minted beauty queen Debra for a candid interview.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am 22 years old. I was born in 1996 in a small island of Labuan. My mom, a businesswoman, is Filipino-Spanish and my dad, a mechanic, is Sino-Dusun. I grew up falling in love with cars because my dad owns a car workshop, being exposed to the world of mechanics ever since a young age. I gathered up my courage to do what I love – to study and get a diploma in mechanical engineering and now I’ve got a job in an oil and gas industry in Labuan.
Now that you’ve won the Miss Grand Malaysia 2018, how do you feel?
Honestly, the crowning moment was very emotional for me. I was so overwhelmed with the crowd cheering and I kept getting flashbacks of my journey to getting there. It was definitely a lot of hard work and sacrifices but my fans and families were there for me, especially the ones in social media that never stop giving me advice for my improvements. My state director and the whole crew that made sure we looked our best at tip top. Our beloved three reigning queens were there for us making sure we get all the tips and advices we really needed for our challenges. Until now, I haven’t really digest the thought that I’ve actually won Miss Grand Malaysia 2018! I feel really blessed, honoured to be chosen the brand of Miss Grand Malaysia 2018.
How does it feel to be going to Myanmar for the Miss Grand International final?
I’m really overwhelmed by the results of the pageant, and the best result I ever could have hoped for. I am ecstatic about going to Myanmar! I’ve been following and enjoying Sanjeda’s journey during her reign as Miss Grand Malaysia 2017 at the finals in Vietnam last year and it gave me the vision to prepare myself. I can’t wait to start working with my national director Jude Benjamin Lisa and the whole team, besides having my three big sisters helping me in any way they can.
Last year, I’ve had the opportunity to represent Malaysia to the Philippines for Miss Culture World 2017. Even though I didn’t win anything there, I’ve learned much from that experience and it will surely help me a lot in preparing for my upcoming challenge in Myanmar. I really am blessed to be given this opportunity for the second time. My ultimate goal is to showcase our country to the world and I will work harder and improve my skills to bring home the crown for Malaysia. And I’m pretty sure with the support that I’m getting from my social media fans, friends and families and especially from the whole team of Miss Grand Malaysia, we can pull it off in Myanmar!
Why did you enter Miss Grand Malaysia?
Miss Grand has a purpose and I want to be a woman with a purpose. The real reason why I joined Miss Grand is because of its advocacy of “Stop the War and Violence”. I hope to spread the message of love, peace and happiness for the betterment of mankind. As a woman, my mission right now is to empower everywoman. With a certified kickboxer background, I hope to inspire women out there that it’s time to break stereotypes and start participating in feminine programmes that can help build up a person internally and inspire changes for the better.
What advice would you give to all pageant newbies?
It’s all about believing in yourself. Believe and achieve. It does sound simple. When you put yourself aside those negative thoughts and insecurities, just go for it! At the end of the day it all comes down to effort. I truly believe that hard work can beat talent. Because to tell you the truth I was a PMR and SPM straight As student in my school and this didn’t come naturally to me. I remember I was weak in Maths, Add Maths and Physics because I was not that really good with numbers but I was persistent in my learning. I did more homework and attended tuition to overcome my weakness. Whatever it is you’re focusing on, set your mind to it, strategize and execute!
What are your favourite activities and hobbies?
I usually spend time at the gym to workout and sometimes, though, I would conduct kickboxing or muay thai classes. If not at the gym, I enjoy hiking and my goal right now is to hike to the top of every hill I could find in Sabah to prepare me for my climb up Mount Kinabalu.
Miss Grand Malaysia 2018 Top-5 Winners
Champion : Debra Jeanne Poh
1st Runner-Up : Kate Cantwell
2nd Runner-Up : Scarlett Megan Liew
3rd Runner-Up : Taanusiya Veerapandian
4th Runner-Up : Rachel Chin
Subsidiary Title Award
Miss Social Media : Kate Cantwell
Best in Swimwear : Scarlett Megan Liew
Best in Evening Gown : Rachel Chin
Miss Popular Vote (by Public) : Scarlett Megan Liew
Miss Popular Vote (by MGM) : Jaspreet Kaur
The National Director Advocacy Excellence Award
Debra Jeanne Poh
Kate Cantwell
Caithlin Supang
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