By Jaythaleela K
MIRI, July 7: A total of 17 women took to the stage for the first ever pageant for plus-sized contestants in Miri on Saturday night, vying for two titles — ‘Miss’ and ‘Mrs’.
The event, the grand finale of the ‘Miss’ and ‘Mrs’ Plus Sarawak 2019 contest, held at a hotel here, is also believed to be the first ever to be held in Sarawak for plus-sized women.
Present to grace the night was Assistant Minustsr for Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin.
In his opening speech, Lee expressed confidence that the event could be part of the strategy to boost tourist arrivals to the city.
“In countries such as USA and Europe, these contests (for plus-sized women) are very much well known and even in India they also organised (such contests),” Lee said.
He lauded the efforts by the organiser, and proposed that perhaps in future they could hosted similar events for plus-sized men.
“Unique events like this could help give our tourism a boost,” he added.
The contest is organised by Dayak Association Miri in collaboration with Sociolytics Sdn Bhd.
The contest aimed to highlight plus-sized women who can embrace themselves and are confident with their body. It drew participation from contestants weighing 80kg and above from across Sarawak.
The contest was divided into two categories — “Miss”(single contestants) and “Mrs”(married contestants).
Eight contestants competed for the “Miss” title, while nine were in the running for the “Mrs” title.
Contestants were judged on intelligence and positive attitude.
For the ‘Miss’ category, 24-year-old Crystal Lulong from Miri, clinched the title and walked away with cash amounting to RM1,500, a sash and a crown.
First runner-up was Amanda Laus, 28, from Bintulu who bagged cash amounting to RM1,200, a sash and a crown, followed by Lisa Jane, 26, who walked away with RM1,000 cash, a sash and also a crown.
In the ‘Mrs’ category, Christy Mujan, 28, from Miri was crowned the winner.
Qalesya Ong, 27, also from Miri took the first runner-up position, while Sherrylia Newson Sinan, 31, was second runner-up.
They received similiar cash amounts as the winners in the ‘Miss’ category.
Subsidiary title winners were Amanda Laus (Miss Photogenic); Sim Hui Ting (Mrs Photogenic); Crystal Lulong (Miss Catwalk); Christy Mujan (Mrs Catwalk); Masstura Pesa (Miss Popular) and Qalesya Ong (Mrs Popular).
Also present were Dayak Association Miri president Serawa Budol and Sociolytics Sdn Bhd’s S. Gumasegaran. — DayakDaily
