Miss Malaysia

Miss Malaysia is a national beauty pageant in Malaysia.

• Tengku Zanariah Tengku Ahmad (Miss International Malaya 1960) – Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia from 1984 to 1989.
• Yasmin Yusoff (Miss Universe Malaysia 1978) – veteran actress, singer, radio presenter, former model
• Michelle Yeoh (Miss World Malaysia 1983) – international actress
• Fazira Wan Chek (Miss World Malaysia 1992) – actress, singer, TV host, businesswoman, model
• Rahima Orchient Yayah (Miss World Malaysia 1994) – businesswoman, former model
• Soo Wincci (Miss World Malaysia 2008) – actress, singer, model
• Thanuja Ananthan (Miss World Malaysia 2009) – model, TV host, actress, humanitarian activist
• Deborah Henry (Miss Universe Malaysia 2011) – motivational speaker, TV host, humanitarian activist, former model
• Rubini Sambanthan (Miss International Malaysia 2014) – model, actress
• Dewi Liana Seriestha (Miss World Malaysia 2014) – won Miss World Talent award in Miss World 2014 which then making her the first woman from Malaysia to receive the special award.
• Alexis Sue-Ann Seow (Miss World Malaysia 2019) – model, emcee, fashion blogger
• Francisca Luhong James (Miss Universe Malaysia 2020) – the first indigenous woman to win the title of Miss Universe Malaysia.
• Nisha Thayananthan (Miss Earth Malaysia 2021) – full-time doctor, part time model
• Lavanya Sivaji (Miss World Malaysia 2021) – full-time doctor, model

Before Malaysia was formed, Malaysian representatives represented the whole nation with a title of "Miss Malaya".

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Malaysia has been represented in the Big Four international beauty pageants since 1960.^[4][5] These are Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth.^[6][7][8]

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In 2017, the first runner-up was sent to Miss Intercontinental pageant. In 2018 and 2019, the runners-up were unable to compete at international level due to lack of sponsorship. Started from 2021, the first runner-up of Miss Grand Malaysia pageant will be sent to The Miss Globe pageant.

Since 2018, the second runner-up of Miss Grand Malaysia pageant will compete Miss Intercontinental pageant.

PAGEANT’S BACKGROUND

D’Touch International Sdn. Bhd., a name synonymous in the beauty pageant industry both locally and internationally, started way back in 1989. To date, D’Touch has successfully organized more than 55 Miss Malaysia Finals and 47 International Beauty Pageant World Finals.

Since the company’s inception in 1990, D’Touch International has crowned 118 Miss Malaysia Winners and 150 World title-holders.  This record has propelled D’Touch International as the leading Pageant Producer in the world.

D’Touch International is also the Franchisor of 6 International Pageant Titles such as Miss Tourism International, Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International, Miss Tourism Metropolitan International, Miss Tourism Global, Miss Tourism Cosmopolitan International and Miss Chinese World. These Pageant Titles are now franchised to more than 80 countries worldwide.

D’Touch International Sdn. Bhd. is a fully fledged event management and promotion company. It is helmed by Tan Sri Datuk Danny Ooi, the President & Franchise owner, a fellow Malaysian who dared to dream the great, and envisioned putting Malaysia on the world map.

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In Malaysia, female Muslims were denied participation in beauty pageants following the issue of a fatwa in 1996 by the Mufti of Selangor, Ishak Baharom.^[30] The issue came to a nasty twist in July - September 1997 when four Malay participants joined the Miss Malaysian petite contest, only to be arrested by the authorities. In the ensuing public outcry and debate that followed, the effectiveness of the fatwa was shown given the influence of the Selangor's Mufti over the nation's sharia law.^[31] The fatwa resonated with the ideology that Muslim women should cover up private parts of their body, or Aurat of which the beauty pageants' practices ran contrary to - even though such religious enactments also apply to male pageants.

In Kuala Lumpur on 21 July 2013, the organisers of Miss Malaysia World 2013 were forced to drop four of its Muslim finalists following a fatwa prohibiting Muslim women from joining beauty pageants. According to Wan Zahidi, the fatwa prohibiting Muslim women from joining beauty pageants was issued and gazetted under the Federal Territories Islamic Administration Act in February 1996.

In recent years, the National Fatwa Council, the country's highest Islamic body, had also issued rulings forbidding Muslims from using Botox and banned women from exhibiting tomboy behaviour, which it defined as behaving or dressing like men or taking part in lesbian sex.

The council came under heavy scrutiny for its proposal to ban yoga after a university lecturer advised people to stop practising it for fear that it could deviate from the teachings of Islam. The move was met with protests from progressive Muslim women's groups like Sisters in Islam who deemed the fatwas regressive while observers claimed it highlighted the worrying trend of overt Islamisation in Malaysia.^[32]

The four contestants are:^[33]

1. Wafa Johanna de Korte, 19, Kuala Lumpur
2. Sara Amellia Bernard, 20, Perak
3. Miera Sheikh, 19, Malacca
4. Kathrina Binti Ridzuan, 24, Kuala Lumpur

Nevertheless, a public outcry ensued, as members of the public questioned the way the religious authorities handled the matter as well as the abrupt ruling which came about – Muslim women in the past had participated in beauty pageants without much protest amongst the religious authorities.^[34] This invoked the concerns of Mahathir Mohamad's who had raised objections to the way the religious authorities had implemented and enforced the law – and questions including distinctions on religious laws and personal freedom were raised.^[35] Nevertheless, the fatwa ruling has since been very effective; Muslim women have since then been deterred from joining any beauty pageants.^[36] Malaysian beauty pageants, in compliance with the law, similarly denied Muslim individuals from participating.^[37] However, Muslim women may still join smaller scale beauty pageant contests such as Dewi Remaja, Miss Intercontinental, and Miss Tourism International, provided that they don't display publicly wearing swimsuits.

• Miss Universe Malaysia
• Miss World Malaysia
• Miss International Malaysia
• Miss Earth Malaysia
• Miss Grand Malaysia
• Unduk Ngadau
• Dewi Remaja

• Miss Universe Malaysia Official website
• Miss World Malaysia Official website