Friday, February 4, 2011

Miss Malaysia 2011; New Winner, New Format

DEBORAH PRIYA HENRY - A 25-year-old Indian-Irish descent made another history when she won Miss Universe Malaysia 2011 as her second title on January 27, 2011 at Posh Smoke and Fire Variety Club in Gardens Mall Malaysia. Her first title was Miss Malaysia World 2007 and she made it to the top 15 semifinals in Miss World 2007 pageant. She's the second Malaysian woman who obtained two major titles after Trincy Low as the first, way back in 1997.   


Deborah is a TV host and a much-loved Malaysian celebrity. She stands 1.75 m tall and holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Queensland, Australia.She is also an active  civic worker. She currently runs the Save the Kids Education Fund (SKEF) for Somali refugee children. 


“Deborah Henry personifies all of the values and attributes of a Miss Universe. This includes professionalism, intelligence, dedication to her country, a strong work ethic, talent, grace and beauty. We are proud to have her as the beginning of a ‘New Breed of Miss Malaysia’ that MUMO aims to discover and groom,” MU Malaysia National Director, Andrea Fonseka said. 


Thus, Deborah is going to be the official representative of Malaysia at the Miss Universe pageant in Sao Paolo, Brazil on the 12th of September this year.  


“I am honoured and privileged to be representing Malaysia on the world stage. I’m in it to win it. If I never take part in this, I will never know how far I will go for the rest of my life,” Deborah said. 


The national director of MU Malaysia intends to improve the franchise. So, she introduced a new format of the pageant, and successfully started with the “HIP, URBAN, RELEVANT, REAL” revamp in 2010. The most notable change is that she will crown the next MU Malaysia a year before the Miss Universe Pageant commences, to allow the winner spend more time for training and preparation. 


“Nadine made a deep impression at Miss Universe last year. The ‘Universe’ is now watching us closely to see who we’re sending next. This year, we are going to SHINE at Miss Universe as Deborah Henry leads our charge into a bright new future for Malaysia at an international level!” Fonseka said. 


“Latin American nations typically have up to 12 months to train their contenders while we’ve had to compress this process into just three months. We believe that future contestants will have a better shot at winning the Miss Universe title now that we have a longer period to train them,” she added.


Anyway, I collected some comments from pageant enthusiasts around the world. Let's see if they're all positive: 



"Wow! I saw this girl at Miss World once. She is really beautifull. A good representative from Malaysia. I bet this girl will blow the judges! I’m rooting for her now!Love from Spain."
                                                                                                                         --baros, missosology.org


"Yeahhh! Deborah win! I love her. She’s the best Asian delegate so far. I’m rooting for her! She’s will be the front runner! No doubt! Good job Malaysia."
                                                                                                                         --Dave, globalbeauties.com


"Malaysia’s best entry in Miss Universe since 1970. I have no doubt that she will make top 15, but the question is how far will she go?"
                                                                                                                        --WilliamNYC, globalbeauties.com


"She didn’t make it to the top in Miss World 2007 due to the MWO format (each continent to be represented by ONLY one and Miss China from Asia, who won, as the host country). This time, in Miss Universe 2011, she is going to make it!"
                                                                                                                        --wildrose, globalbeauties.com


"Wow, this is face of a Miss Universe winner. I can imagine her wearing the Miss Universe crown. Such a stunning beauty. Finally Malaysia has found a true winner. Let’s see if my prediction to win the crown."
                                                                                                                       --lamarquise, globalbeauties.com





Here's Deborah's crowning moment video: 




Info courtesy:
www.missuniversemalaysia.com
www.globalbeauties.com


Photo courtesy:
www.missuniversemalaysia.com
www.globalbeauties.com
www.beautypageantnews.com


Video courtesy:
www.youtube.com