25 year old Deborah Priya Henry was named as the new Miss Universe Malaysia 2011 on January 27. She was crowned by Miss Universe Malaysia 2010, Nadine Ann Thomas.
A local model and TV host, Deborah Priya Henry once represented her country at Miss World 2007 beauty pageant and placed in the top 16. She is also well known for her charity work SKEF, an education centre for refugee Somali children, and is not only a ‘Sportswoman of the Year’, but also holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Queensland, Australia.
“I am honoured and privileged to be representing Malaysia on the world stage, I’m in it to win it. If I never take part in this, I will never know how far I will go for the rest of my life,” said Deborah, who is of Indian-Irish descent.
The panel comprises Andrea Fonseka, who is the national director of the Miss Universe Malaysia Pageant (MUMO), local actor Hans Isaac and Russian beauty expert Julia Dolmatova. Fonseka, who took home the Miss Universe Malaysia title in 2004 said they chose a contestant with experience as they do not have the time and resource to groom a greenhorn.
“There are no rules that say a former winner of other beauty pageants can’t join the Miss Universe pageant,” Fonseka explained.
She added that Trincy Low, who won the Miss World title in 1995, also went on to win the Miss Universe title in 1997.
Other Miss Universe Malaysia 2011 finalists were Gail James, Cassandra Patrick, Jennifer Pedersen, Kelly Jagan, Mourhna Reddy, Patricia Sue-Lin Kundsen, Stefanie Chua and Thanuja Ananthan.
Standing 5' ft 10 1⁄2" tall, Deborah Priya Henry will represent Malaysia at Miss Universe 2011 to be held on September 12 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
