Seated from left, Nisbet, Eric, Noredah, Joniston, Junainah, Sean and Liaw in a group photo with the finalists.
KOTA KINABALU (August 23): Twenty-four finalists of three prestigious beauty pageants will be in Kiulu on Thursday for an eco-tourism and community service experience as part of their program leading up to the coronation night.
Contestants are here to compete for the titles of Miss World Malaysia, Miss Grand Malaysia and Miss Supranational Malaysia – a mega three-in-one beauty pageant event held in Sabah for the first time.
During their visit to Kiulu, they are expected to engage with the community and help decorate houses, improve the trail, and plant trees.
Their visit there is organized by the Hilton Hotel as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative.
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister with Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai praised the pageant’s organizing committee and the Hilton Hotel for including an informative program and hoped they would make the most of their time. connecting with the locals.
“Kiulu is a popular destination for both eco-tourism and those interested in supporting local communities because we have a strong concept of community-based tourism there,” Kiulu assemblyman said at a press conference on Hyperlive Festival Malaysia here on Tuesday.
“Involving the finalists in local activities is important as this will give them an opportunity to meet new people and gain insight into local life and culture, which will enhance their learning experience,” he added.
Joniston said pageants and tourism complement each other as participants from different backgrounds can improve cross-cultural understanding and create new connections, which benefit tourism, economic progress and humanitarian efforts.
In addition, he encouraged the finalists to use their platform as influencers to help promote Sabah and the charity work they had been doing throughout the competition on social media.
Hyperlive Festival Malaysia brings together high-profile beauty pageant events, with the grand finals and crowning ceremonies for three mega pageants taking place at the Sabah International Convention Center (SICC) on 27 August.
Thanking the organizer for bringing a major spectacular event to Sabah, Joniston said such an initiative is in line with the vision of his Ministry and the Sabah Tourism Board to bring important business events to the state.
“Making SICC a stage for spectacular shows would certainly help enhance Sabah’s reputation as a preferred event destination, while also promoting the brilliance of our convention center to the rest of the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hyperlive Entertainment chief executive officer Dr Sean Wong said HyperLive Festival Malaysia aims to provide a hybrid platform for individuals to showcase their talents to over 1,000 people at the venue and to a global audience watching the shows online.
“Through the various events held during our HyperLive Festival in Malaysia, we aim to empower lives. We have a strong social mission to bring about positive change in our society, so in addition to providing an innovative platform for talent discovery, we hope to support sustainable community projects proposed by our competition finalists and give back their ideas into reality,” he said.
On the other hand, Sabah Tourism and Travel Agents Association (Satta) chairman Datuk Seri Winston Liaw, who is also co-hosting the event, said Taiji, karate, Tacfit demos, fashion shows by local artists and live concerts . includes himself and Datuk Susan Wong Siew Guen on the second day of the Hyperlive Festival on 28 August.
“I am confident with the leadership of Datuk Joniston, Mayor Datuk Noorliza Awang Alip and Sabah Tourism Board Chief Executive Noredah Othman, and the joint efforts of industry stakeholders, our tourism will grow to greater heights .”
Also present were Kota Kinabalu Municipality (DBKK) general manager Junainah Abbie, Fantastic Golden Sdn Bhd director Eric Goh and Hilton Kota Kinabalu general manager Andrew Nisbet.