Thomas Tan
Amanda Ong, 38, from Selangor was crowned as Mrs Malaysia Universe 2022, while Rachel Saw, 45, also from Selangor clinched the elite category as Mrs Elite Malaysia Universe 2022.
Mrs Malaysia Universe and Mrs Elite Malaysia Universe Pageants were held on July 9 at the Mega Star Arena in Kuala Lumpur.
It featured 10 contestants in the Mrs Malaysia Universe category (ages 25 to 40) and 15 contestants in the Mrs Elite Malaysia Universe category (age 41 to 65).
Organizer and managing director of Yinzi Event and Marketing, Madam Lim Siew Cheng said both Amanda Ong and Rachel Saw will go on to represent Malaysia in upcoming international pageants.
Ong was elated and completely overtaken by emotion while receiving the crown from Mrs. Malaysia Universe 2019 Sophia Mohd Noor.
“I feel like I’m floating on cloud nine. The feeling is euphoric. I was overwhelmed with so much emotions that I burst into tears. To be able to beat such a competitive field of contestants is no easy task,” Ong said after winning her first pageant title.
“I am proud to have won the title. By no means did I win it on my own steam. I would like to thank my mom, my friends, sponsors, organizers, their back stage crew, and supporters for their untiring encouragement and morale support through this journey, and last but not least my fiancé who is the pillar behind all my endeavours,” added Ong.
Apart from winning the champion title, Ong, a private banker in a local bank, also won three subsidiary titles of Best Eloquence, Most Popular and Best Talent. She also grabbed the TBC Elektrik Ambassador award.
“Winning this title will provide me the platform to enhance my individualism and to project my image beyond my wildest dreams.
“During the course of participation and gruelling practices leading up to the finals, I have begun to see that perseverance knows no boundaries. My fellow contestants have truly earned my respect for they have sacrificed so much of their time and put in their best efforts to enter the finals,” she said.
The mother of a four-year-old daughter said her natural ability to connect and interact comfortably with people was her biggest strength in her journey to the crown.
“Perseverance and commitment to the cause is also something of a second nature to me.”
Ong said the most challenging aspect of the competition was the talent show performance.
“I chose to perform a combi of ballet dance and K-pop. I have never had any formal dance coaching so I discussed with a friend who runs a dance studio called Arabesque Dance Academy. She trained me from the basics. Each training session averaged about 2.5hrs. Time management is very challenging especially having to rush off immediately from work to the dance studio for almost every day of the week,” said Ong.
Ong revealed that it was her own inspiration to join a beauty pageant and her patience has been rewarded.
“The inspiration came from within me. As a teenager growing up, it has always been my dream to be a beauty queen. However, this dream had to be put on hold as I had to pursue a career whilst raising my little daughter. This dream was then reignited when I came across the Mrs Malaysia Universe pageant,” she said.
For Ong, beauty pageants are not about beauty and brain, they do empower women.
“Pageants promote goal setting and self-determination. It ultimately empowers women to be the best versions of themselves.”
Success, according to Ong, is not necessarily measured by high positions and wealth. “To be able to achieve your personal goal in life is in itself success. I would venture to add that a person who has attained happiness and contentment can also be considered as successful.”
For Saw, a businesswoman and a mother of three children aged 12, 14 and 16, she was overjoyed when her name was announced as the winner of the Mrs Elite Universe Malaysia 2022, given that this was her first pageant.
“I am overjoyed with the result. I am the new Mrs Elite Malaysia Universe 2022 champion. I have to believe this dream, the wildest dream in my life. I’m blessed, thankful and hopeful for the journey that lies ahead.
“My life has been a beautiful ride for the past 3-month pageantry journey. My new chapter of life has just begun,” said Saw, who also won two subsidiary titles of Best Eloquence and Most Potential.
Saw, who was born in Penang and now resides in Subang Jaya, said the most challenging part of the competition was getting on stage in front of a live audience, something she had never done. It was a whole new experience for her but she stood out from the rest.
“I am not a stage person. This was the biggest stage of my life. On the final night, considering I was new, I felt slightly nervous that something might go wrong. I had to be confident and I performed my best.
“I always have an open heart and it was my first time participating in a pageant without any expectations. I practised hard to present the best version of myself, to inspire others and of course to have fun and enjoy myself.”
Like Ong, Saw sees beauty pageants as a good platform for empowerment, not just about the physical beauty of the women.
“It is a powerful platform to transform a woman into super power woman. Why I say this? It makes the impossible possible. Women power is unstoppable,” she added.
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