Following a glitzy Gala Dinner event hosted by the Miss Universe Malaysia Organization (MUMO) at Palace of the Golden Horses tonight, Kiran Jassal from Selangor was crowned Miss Universe Malaysia 2016.
Kiran Jassal grew up in Subang Jaya and has an older sister. Standing at 174cm tall, she was trained in classical harmonium for nine years from the age of seven. Describing herself as a homely person who enjoys reading and exercising, Kiran completed her ‘A’ Levels at Kolej Tuanku Jaafar and was accepted into the International Medical University (IMU)’s dentistry programme this year. Following her win, she will be deferring her studies to prepare for the international pageant.
As the new Miss Universe Malaysia 2016, Kiran said “I feel really blessed to have won the crown as it is an honour to represent my country Malaysia. What I think gave me the edge over the other girls was the fact that I was always ready to take on criticisms and improve on areas that I was lacking in. I can definitely say that I have learnt so much under the guidance of the team of advisors and mentors from MUMO compared to from where I first started.”
Kiran will be representing the country in her capacity as Miss Universe Malaysia 2016 on the international platform. Vanessa Tevi Kumares, Miss Universe Malaysia 2015 was present to crown the new queen.
The glamorous Gala Night event was hosted by former Miss Universe Malaysia 2011 Deborah Henry and local personality Hansen Lee. Guests were entertained by a contemporary musical theatre show featuring the top 14 finalists, with vocal performances by Tony Eusoff, Stephanie Van Driesen and Suhaili Micheline.
The task of selecting a deserving queen was given to a panel nine judges from the fashion, beauty and entertainment industry who were specially handpicked as Gala Night judges. The judges were former pageant mentor & advisor, and Miss Universe Malaysia 2003 Elaine Daly, local actor Awal Ashaari, fashion designer Sonny San, founder of Ceres Jewels Dato’ Sri Navneet Goenka, property developer Datuk Wira Rahadian Mahmud Khalil, Creative Stylist of Shawn Cutler hair salons Shawn Loong, pageant trainer Jeff Lee, CEO & founder of KO Skin Specialist Dato’ Dr Ko Chung Beng and celebrity stylist Zaihani Mohd Zain.
This year’s Top 14 finalists were Alicia Tan 陈安莉, Ariessa Lam 林缋萤, Cindy Ng 黄欣仪, Dhivya Dhyana, Hazelin Ng 吴淑慧, Jennifer Ling 林淑玶, Kiran Jassal, Lina Soong 宋美拎, Loveena Ruban, Nisha Sema, Rema Rao, Chow Shiat Teen 周雪婷, Swarna Naidu and Yeoh Yen Nee 杨燕妮
Final Results
1st runner-up: Dhivya Dhyana
2nd runner-up: Lina Soong
3rd runner-up: Swarna Naidu
4th runner-up: Nisha Sema
Subsidiary titles were awarded to the following finalists:
Miss Body Beautiful – Swarna Naidu
Miss Photogenic – Dhivya Dhyana
Miss Congeniality – Nisha Sema
Miss Online Personality – Alicia Tan
Miss mydentist Winning Smile – Kiran Jassal, Swarna Naidu Miss Talent – Lina Soong
The Gala Night saw the attendance of over 600 people which included the who’s who in the local business, media, fashion and entertainment industry including Miss Universe China 2015 Jessica Xue Yun Fang, supermodel Amber Chia, local celebrities Hunny Madu, Thanuja Ananthan, Amelia Henderson, Aishah Sinclair, Nadine Ann Thomas, Megan Tan, Peter Davies, Dato’ Yasmin Yusuff and more.
The new queen will have an opportunity of a lifetime to travel abroad and represent Malaysia at the Miss Universe pageant to be held in the later part of 2016. Additionally, she will also receive a cash prize of RM50,000 from the Miss Universe Malaysia Organization and sponsored prizes worth over RM200,000 from Ceres Jewelry, Frederique Constant, KO Skin Specialist, Shawn Cutler, L’Oreal Professionnel, Acer, Bodytone, mydentist, Yen Bird’s Nest by Eu Yan Sang, Lorna Jane Activewear, Amber Chia Academy, Neubodi, Strip and Browhaus.
This annual pageant is presented by Fashion Valet and MyMotor, in support of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation (MAF) with official partner Ceres Jewelry, and jointly sponsored by Naza Italia Maserati, Frederique Constant, KO Skin Specialist, Palace of the Golden Horses, Shawn Cutler, L’Oreal Professionnel, Acer, Bodytone, La Juiceria, mydentist, Soju, Arirang, Yen Bird’s Nest, Lorna Jane, Mermaid Dreams, Sense&Style, Kronenbourg, neubodi, Amber Chia Academy, Apat Port /Ford Studio KL, Citadels Horizon Productions, Angelic Touch, Flame and UHY. The Next Miss Universe Malaysia 2016 is supported by official media partners The Star, FHM Malaysia, Style Magazine Malaysia, 8TV and The Malaysian Times.
The Gala Night for the crowning of The Next Miss Universe Malaysia 2016 will be broadcasted on 8TV on Wednesday, 24 February 2016 at 9.30pm.
