The grand finals of the Miss Malaysia Universe 2009 was held at The Royale Chulan Hotel on 30th May 2009. It was bigger and better than the pageant last year, with bigger sponsors, nicer clothes and a bigger runway. The food was edible at best, I barely touched the mains. Terribly disappointing. There was nothing much to eat (everything was so minuscule), and my evening gown had no space for a food bump. Since my table was quite near the stage, I managed to take a few decent shots of the finalists.

Top 18 Finalists from left-right.

My favourites were No.8 (Chantelle Chuah) and No.13 (Joannebelle Ng). Looking through my pictures, I noticed I focused quite a bit on these two, especially Chantelle. She looked so doll-like, pretty and graceful. No.13 was a crowd favourite, and I found her very sweet-looking. Sheepish, girly and doe-eyed, I particularly loved looking at her when she smiles. Malcolm liked No.6, 14 & 15. Miss Universe 2005, Natalie Glebova made a special appearance that night.

Evening gown round

My favourites were both gorgeous in their evening wear, especially Chantelle, who had an amazing body (I’m green with envy). No.16 (Robyna) won the Best in Swimwear title. I spoke to her for a bit after the event, and found her quite friendly and down to earth.

Top 8 finalists:

1. Amelia Liew Huann Ran (Contestant No.1)
2. Cassandra Patrick (Contestant No.2)
3. Claudia Tania Sibert (Contestant No.6)
4. Jenny Chong Lee Chin (Contestant No.7)
5. Chantelle Chuah (Contestant No.8)
6. JoannaBelle Ng (Contestant No.13)
7. Sonia Menon (Contestant No.15)
8. Christy Yeoh (Contestant No.18)

During the Q & A session, No.6 (Claudia) and No.18 (Christy) gave pretty good answers. They were both very articulate and confident. No.8 (Chantelle) looked nervous, and it showed in her answer.

No.2 (Cassandra) was very poised and had a strong stage presence. I liked that her answer wasn’t too “try hard”, unlike some of the contestants, who sounded like they were “bodek-ing” Kee Hua Chee. At the after party at the hotel lounge, I was disappointed to find no food!! Only more booze…and I had reached my alcohol limit that night. Like every other pageant event, I went home hungry… o_0