Twenty-three Mrs Malaysia Universe 2023 contestants from across the country, including Sembagam, Liz Koh and Freya Yen, are taking excitedly as they have made it to the finals.
They comprised of 15 finalists of Mrs Malaysia Universe 2023 (Group A, open for contestants 23 to 40 years of age) and eight finalists of Mrs Elite Malaysia Universe 2023 (Group B – between 41 to 65 years of age).
The new set of finalists were officially unveiled by Mrs Malaysia Universe organiser Yinzi Event & Marketing director Lim Siew Cheng, better known as Madam Lim, at a packed press conference at Sunway College & Stylo Fashion Design Technology Hub in Subang Jaya on June 17, 2023.
The beautiful women competing for the title this year in the Group A are Valerie Chua, Beverly Koh, Liz Koh, Peannie Ooi, Celine Phong, Shirely Fong, Veronica Loke, Sharon Liew, Sharene Lim, Hazel Lim, Freya Yee, Elisha, Sembagam a/p Krishnan, Sara and Vicky Gip.
In the Group B are Caryn Wong, Yvonne Yee, Maria Tay, Catherine Ng, Winnie Goh, Rachel Wong, Michelle Lim and Iris Mendonca.
“This batch of finalists we selected are wonderful and accomplished women who mustered the courage to compete in Mrs Malaysia Universe and I am proud of them.
“To all the contestants, I wish each one of you every success with the pageant,” said Madam Lim.
Present were Sunway Group director Puan Sri Susan Cheah, Mrs Malaysia Universe 2023 Women’s Icon Leadership Puan Sri Datin Liana Lim, Fashion Design Technology Hub programme director Augustine Wong, Mrs Malaysia Universe 2016 Timeless Queen Carly Voon, Mrs Malaysia Universe 2023 Timeless Queen Datin Mary Rasouli, Mrs Malaysia Universe 2022 Amanda Ong and Mrs Elite Malaysia Universe 2022 Rachel Saw.
Madam Lim expressed gratitude to the VVIPs, sponsors, beauty queens, performers, media and all the guests present who contributed to the successful press conference.
The finalists are currently going through a series of training sessions, workshops and activities, including catwalk training by Alist Academy Malaysia, makeovers, photo shoots and sponsors visit.
The Mrs Malaysia Universe 2023 finale will be held at the Mega Star Arena, Sungei Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur on July 29, 2023.
The title winner will represent Malaysia at the Mrs Universe 2023 finals which will be held in Manila, Philippines from October 1-9, 2023.
First-time beauty pageant contestant Sembagam a/p Krishnan, 35, from Perak, a single mother, was ecstatic when she was chosen as a finalist.
“Standing out from the crowd and presenting yourself for a cause has always been stigma for women, especially women after divorce like myself should stay positive and strong.
“This inspired me to join this pageant and be an inspiration to other women,” said Sembagam on her first pageant experience.
By being a part of the pageant, Sembagam, a mother of three kids aged five, seven and nine, hopes to gain an opportunity to learn some skills and to support toward other women.
“I expect to be more confident and a better person. In this platform I wish to reach out to more women to support them emotionally with my life experiences and what I gained in this pageant.”
The medical laboratory scientist somehow manages to juggle with entering the competition, being a mum and having a career.
“Despite the tough competition among all the well-groomed contestants, managing time for all the pageant events in the middle of my own hectic schedule is the major challenge I faced.”
That may seem like a lot to handle for Sembagam but she is not complaining one bit as she has always pushed herself to do as much as possible.
Finalist Liz Koh, 39, from Seremban, is looking forward to clinching the Mrs Malaysia Universe title.
Her first beauty contest was the Miss Freshie Queen in 2002 during her college year. She returned to compete in beauty pageants once again by participating in Mrs Malaysia Universe.
“By participating and hopefully winning Mrs Malaysia Universe 2023, I have bigger dream of pushing it to the next level by leveraging on a beauty queen title. I believe I can empower more people to believe in themselves, not only women empowerment but self-empowerment for everyone at any age.”
Koh said one of the most challenging parts of the preparation was keeping up to the time due to her hectic schedule.
“As my children are fairly young, there’re two, five and seven years old, I’ll have to arrange for their care and meals whenever I have pageant activities that sometimes requires us to be away for days or until late nights on weekends.
“I have to manage my time better, even when time is tight, and to create a win-win situation.”
A business administration graduate from Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT), formerly known as TAR University College (TAR UC), Koh launched a career in banking after graduation before starting her business.
“I started a business for two years which was closed down during the MCO. I then got into TikTok and successfully build a strong 100k followers in five months.
“So now I’m actively a content creator for brands and advertisements, besides being a social media influencer, mainly on TikTok providing education and entertainment to the public.”
Koh who uses the handle @realmummyliz has 123.1k followers on TikTok with 29mil views as of the present moment.
Broadcaster and music tutor Freya Yen, 30, from Selangor, is excited being selected for the finals and is ready to challenge herself and push her boundaries in her first beauty pageant.
“I have seen the transformation of all the beautiful women who have become more confident and elegant after joining pageants.
“They made me believe that nothing could stop my dreams even after getting married and have kids,” she said.
“I hope to build more self-confidence, know more people from different industries and of course I can inspire more married women out there that nothing could stop them chasing their dreams and doing what they like,” she added.
The mother of two kids, aged four and six, said she will ‘just do her best’ and enjoy this lifetime experience.
This article has been updated.
