Miss Pesta Pulau Pinang 2009. Related Newspaper coverage by THE STAR newspaper Malaysia.

Saturday December 19, 2009 

Story and photos by JEREMY TAN

IT was billed as the ‘beauty pageant with a difference’ — one that not only showcased the stunning beauty of local lasses, but also served to promote the island’s famed cuisine and raise money for charity at the same time.

Themed ‘Delectable Island Delicacy’, the Miss Pesta Pulau Pinang 2009 Grand Finals held at the Red Rock Hotel in Penang on Sunday saw 15 hopefuls battle it out for the crown and earn the privilege of being an ambassadress for the Pearl of the Orient for a year.

After gruelling preview rounds, photo shoots with Penang’s famous dishes and subsidiary pageants, it all came down to a glitzy night when finalists paraded in cocktail wear, casual wear, sports wear and evening wear, interspersed with energetic performances by the Wildcat Dancers, Greenapple Ballet Academy and guest artistes.

Miss Pesta Pulau Pinang 2009 winner, Tan Lin Jie, looking elegant in a flowing black evening gown.

The top five were then chosen, and in accordance with the pageant theme, they were required to answer a question related to Penang’s hawker fare.

Opening a lid to reveal an image of a tempting bowl of hokkien mee, a svelte Tan Lin Jie was quizzed on the dish’s significance to the local people — to which she succinctly replied, “As the majority of Penang Chinese are Hokkien, it is an important dish that represents the local Chinese community.”

A first timer at beauty pageants, the 22-year-old makeup student signed up merely to gain exposure and learn the tricks of the trade. Despite displaying much poise and confidence throughout the finals, Tan was visibly surprised when her name came over the loudspeaker being announced as champion.

Tan (centre), flanked by first runner up Chee Hui Ming (second from right), second runner up Gaayathri K. Rajakumaran (second from left), third runner-up Samantha Scully (right) and fourth runner up Maggie Tung (left).

“It is indeed a big surprise. When the emcee was stalling on announcing the winner, my heart was beating so fast. This pageant was supposed to be just a learning experience, and I never expected to come away with the crown,” Tan said, adding that she would be celebrating her victory by going home and getting some well-earned sleep.

Among the tallest at the pageant at 170cm, Tan, who lists fried oyster as her favourite hawker dish, also said she would consider a career in modelling if the opportunity arose, but for now, she had her sights set on becoming a makeup artist.

She also walked away with three subsidiary titles —Miss Beautiful Skin JL deBeauty, Miss Crowning Glory Beautility and Miss Energetic Visage Sports. In all, she took home cash and prizes worth almost RM20,000.

Despite narrowly missing out on the crown, 20-year-old mass communications student Chee Hui Ming was proud to finish runner-up, and described her entire experience as a rewarding one.

“A lot of people might say pageants are superficial, but in fact, I’ve made great friends here, as the other girls are all very nice,” Chee said.

Asked to speak about ais kacang during the Q&A, Chee said the dessert was a great thirst quencher for Malaysia’s hot climate, and likened the many different ingredients that go together to make the sweet treat to the multicultural nature of the nation.

Chee, who will be sitting for her final exams soon, added that she would try to promote Penang food through social networking sites, as people all over the world would be able to see photographs of local delicacies and be tempted to try them. She added one subsidiary title to her name —Miss Persona by Pensonic.

In third place was 21-year-old Gaayathri K. Rajakumaran, a business management student who has a great affinity for chapatti.

When asked to speak about char koay teow, she eloquently answered, “Who doesn’t know what it is? Penang’s char koay teow is of diamond standard, and you can find it anywhere, from hotels to street corners.”

Coming in fourth and fifth were Samantha Scully, 22, and Maggie Tung, 20, respectively.

The pageant’s grand finals-cum-charity dinner also managed to raise a sum of RM30,000 through sponsorship and ticket sales, all channelled towards the Lions Club of Bayan Baru’s Sight First Foundation, which provides essential eye care related services to needy members of the public.