A Walk To Remember – [MISS MALAYSIA DIVA PAGEANT 2003/2004] Part IV

Well here we are… after a long, tak der lah long mananye pun… short few seconds break, at last, we’re in the final chap of the 4 part epic blog of Miss Malaysia – A Walk to remember…. eheheh.. FINALLY!

Ok… lets not waste anymore time. Kejap… nak recall balik… ok ok… hmmm

Ok. After that Miss Berkemban Malay Tradition Swinwear night tu, that was like in October 1st… I sort of like had two months to prepare for the finals… Disamping itu jugak, I memang sibuk flying. Tapi dah tgh sibuk fly2 pun, tetap practice q/a dlm bilik waktu nightstops memana, tetap bukak bijik mata surveyed for accessories yang meletop letup, then carik2 kasut, shopping boleh tahan jugak lah sebulan dua tu. Habis jugak duit aku. Ekekek. But anyways, didn�t concentrate much, not until end of November tu. Kindda like last minute prep jugak. CNN ade jugak melaporkan hal hal contestants yang lain to me when I balik KL after flights ke ape ke. Sempat eden bertanya kan CNN pasal Miss Perak State reps� preparations. CCN cakap her evening dress is in PINK. Ewww, PINK!? Well, cannot say anything yet, not until malam tu bile I nampak that dress. Silap hari bulan, cantik. Tanye lagi CNN, ape lagi citer? CNN cakap banyak orang confident in me winning, tak kurang jugak yang cakap I MIGHT just fall second again to PERAK as she was afterall a cool competitor� Hmmmm.. Apa apa jer la. Lagi? CNN said� rumors here and there in KL that I got sponsored 100% for the finals. Addinch!!!! Kalau 100%, tak yah buat pe pe la. Goyang kaki and bontot jer la for the finals, kan? Rumors, I wonder bile its gonna end. And the FINAL CNN! For the final night, only 15 states competing! The runner-up semuenya hanya backing up in case anything were to happened to the State Rep. Kan ade State Rep tarik diri, so first runner-up kenalah take over. Reason being sbb diaorang akan buat Mr and Ms Malaysia 2003/2004 Pageant serentak! Memang time kitaorang sibuk compete for state reps, Mr. Malaysia Pageant 2003/04 pun tgh berlansung hangat. The exact same thing cuma it was for men only la kan. Ehehehe. So the organizers nak buat serentak. So�nak cut time and what not, runners up last minute hanye stand by kalau state rep tak jadik masuk. Kesian kan?

So basically what would actually happened malam finals tu macam nih.
- Introduction round in Traditional State Costume Mr. and Ms
- Brief parade in Traditional Costume Mr and Ms
- Evening Wear category Mr and Ms
- Announcement of Subsidiary title winners Mr and Ms
- Top 5 result Mr and Ms
- Q/A between top 5 with selected judges Mr and Ms
- Results Mr and Ms Malaysia 2003/04
PS- Of course my main highlight would be the Miss Malaysia jer la ek? Mr Malaysia tu, tunggu ah sikit tahun I buat review/recalling ek?

Ok, so, like, erm� after surveyed sana, surveyed sinik, shopping sana shopping sinik, larik sana sinik dengan Kak Vee yang also bertungkus lumus nak membantu me in preparing for the finals� I finally managed to get everything ready just two three days before the final night, December 20th.

- Traditional State wear, gold lace kebaya top, filled with diamonds and embroideries, with matching green and gold batik sarung. For this category, I decided to use a simple ruby earrings (which I already had �em� need not to shop anymore for that thingie � bende yang leh save, save la kan�. Ehehehe), dua cucuk sanggul silver dangling, two yellow roses (fake ones of course), gelang tangan gold diamonds and also kipas tangan kayu with dangling lace.. (kipas tu buat sendiri tau � the dangling ruffles and lace that is� hehehe)
- For evening dress round, Abang Roy, yang sponsored my traditional state wear tu, also sponsored my dres for this round. Dia guna kain batik lepas Jawa, (memang dia gi carik khas for me tau� love that guy!) Memang cantik kain tu punye designs and siap with scattered diamonds lagi. But he added more diamonds as he knew I ratu diamond pun. Ehehehe. Accessories for my evening dress, just two simple diamond bracelets, and a diamond drop choker, and yes, it did come with a matching earrings. Ehehehe� Hair accessories, just a diamond butterfly clip (a bi one ok!) and an orange flower (bunga apa tah Kak Vee guna. Tah I pun tak tahu bunga ape tapi it matched my dress well� )
- For both dresses, I guna one pair of heels jer. Senang. Malas nak tukar2. Lagipun, I bought those Vincci shoes in goldish creamed colour. So matched well dengan my both dresses. Bukannye orang or judges as for that matter nak tengok in detail pun, kan?

Ha� itu la dia. Dah ready for the finals. Just a three four days before the pageants final night tu, everything was sort of like, settled. Kak Vee pun ade jugak test make up with me. She wanna know ape yang dia nak buat for me during the finals. And thus she wanted to know what I think. I said to her something like this;

�Kak Vee,� make up you ols la yang buatkan hem menang Miss Penang. Make up you ols jugak lah yang buatkan hem berseri- seri malam berkemban hari tu. Dan make up you ols nak buat untuk finals nih, terserah la. You ols dah tahu selok belok muka hem. Hem dinch worry la dengan kemampuan you ols. Buat jer yang terbaik. The rest, hem cuba jugak usahan dan the remaining, tgk nasib malam tu�. Dinch risau la you ols, hem dinch kisah la you ols nak make up macam mana. Janji meletop!�

I like to make things easier for her as well. I leh jadik fussy, ngokngekngokngek. Kang nanti, sentap. Tannak lah. I nak dia keje dengan I dalam keadaan happy dan tak tension. Baru make up dia menjadik. Kang dia tgh sentap, make up ke mana, ape ke mana, tul tak?

The two dresses I picked up a day before the pageant. Waktu tu I baru balik from a single nightstop flight dari mana tah� waktu picking up the dresses, I met Miss Perak State rep tgh ambil her dresses from another designer yang boutique nye tak der lah that far from Abang Roy�s boutique. Jeling sana jeling sini, addinch nampak what was in that boutiques� paper bag that she was carrying! Chis! Chimpeng tul!

Tunggu punye tunggu punye tunggu, makan tak lalu, tidur tak leh nak lena, December 19th tibe. It was the first rehearsals for finals. Went well. As usual. JANJI at 3pm, yang datang at 3pm, ADO? Ade lah beberape kerat jer yang datang. Most of them came around 3.30pm. Tak per la. Nampak sangat tak disciplined. Tgk me? I arrived 15 minutes earlier tau, only to find out Miss Perak and Pahang state rep dah arrived 5 minutes ahead of me.
So practice pi practice mai, habis la first day practice at 6pm. Then malam, me lepak with Kak Vee. Did my nails, hands and feet, lepak minum2, (ADDDINCH MAKAN OK! A NIGHT BEFORE CONTEST, NEVER EAT ANYTHING�) then Kak Vee slept over at my place. Then masuk tidur kindda like a bit early. By 11pm dah tidur.

DECEMBER 20th 2003

Pagi2 buta dah jaga dah. 9am went breakfast. Then duduk umah kejap. Relaxed and what not. 12pm gi final rehearsals. Again most of them sampai lewat. Biase lah. Yesterday tu kan Friday night, semuenye nak happening ler kot. Kak Vee didn�t come along as she wanna ensure everything was set up for me to get ready and do my make up after I balik rehearsals. So as we finished rehearsing, we had a short briefing;

- Contestants had to be there LATEST by 6.45pm
- One contestant, one make up artiste/ assistant
- Crowd would be arriving by 8.00pm ++
- Contestants were advised to keep the level of professionalism to a high level as VIPs and VVIPs would be there that night
- Etc � tak important pun for me�

Rehearsals habis around 3.30pm. I said to myself, THAT�S IT! Habis la. Kak Vee needs at least 2 solid hours� sempat ke nak siap? Tgh drive pun pening kepala datang lah. Migraine, biasa la. Most of the contestants siap kat situ jer, I mean, diaorang siap kat venue jer. But knowing me, I cerewet. Nak mandi dulu la, itu ini lagik� susah. So I decided to balik jer and get ready at home.

Balik rumah, mandi, siap2 semua, baring, Kak Vee start make up. I terlelap. Sedar2 twas like 6.15pm. Got up. TERKEJUT tgk my make up! Flawless Kak Vee make upkan I. Then twas the hairdo. Dia lilit sana lilit sini, sepit sana sini, then 6.30pm, I dah SIAP. Rushed bagai nak rak nih. Drive serupe pelesit jer. Sampai kat venue 7.15pm. I thought that�s it lah. Habis la aku! Alih2, ado!? Ade lagi ramai yang tak sampai! Argh!!! TENSIONNYE waktu tu!

So I relaxed� Kak Vee touch up sikit. We laughed, chatted a bit, smoked, and what not. By 7.45pm baru start tukar to my state dress. As usual, when I pakai jer my dress tu, the whole room macam.. �wwooooooo�� sama macam time I masuk the changing room tu. Everyone tgk me like, � �woooooo�� ape hal? Heheheh Ape kes? Kak Vee betulkan itu ini and after that get ready semuenye, she asked me to sit down. And dia taburkan glitters gold and silver all over me and sprayed glitters spray all over my body, neck, hands, legs, all over my la termasuk my dress and hair, so that as stage nanti, kena jer spotlight, memang glittering habis ahhh me nanti kate Kak Vee�

Sementara waiting for everyone to get ready and what not, contest patutnye start at 8.30pm, tapi twas already 8.15pm, crowd belum ramai. Oh. Lupe wanna tell the details of the finals�
Event: Mr Malaysia and Miss Malaysia Diva Pageant 2003/2004
Venue: Orange Club, just off Jalan Pinang � Jalan Kia Peng
Time: 8.00pm- Arrival of Guests
8.30pm- Competition Begins
VIP/VVIPs: Ade la some Tan Sris and Datos� with their wives and what not. Ramai la jugak. One corner dalam Orange Club tu untuk diaorang jer, VVIPs and VIPs.
Judges: Maria Farida (actress), Aleeza Kasim (actress/model), Sara Loo (ex-Miss Malaysia), Sheila Rusli (actress), Syed Abu Bakar (Erra Fazira’s Manager), Vernon (Ning Baizura’s Manager), Zul Yahya (actor), Rosnah Mat Aris (actress)

Lepas tu, after awhile they said the contest dah about to start. I just cut things short la ek. Tak yah la into details sangat ape I buat dalam changing room and what not, ape I borak semue tu, tak yah la ek? Ekekekeke. Oh tapi this I have to tell. Ade some contestants, kesian I tgk. Ade yang by 8pm make up tak sudah2 lagi. Ade yang 8.15pm, costumes/dresses tak sampai sampai lagi. Ade tu, tgh menangis gabra la, ade yang panic lah, itu la ini la, ADE YANG GADUH dengan make up artiste la. Ish. Sabar jer lah! Yang Mr Malaysia contestants, ade yang dari muka cute, terus lasam sbb salah touch ups. Ade yang Mr Malaysia tu, punye lah CANTIK patutnye masuk Miss Malaysia. Ade yang tak sehsuweeii langsung. Macam macam ragam lah dalam changing room tu. 15 Miss Malaysia contestants, 15 Mr Malaysia� pepaham jer lah how riuh rendah amik gambar la itu la ini la�

So anyways, contest dah nak mula� jengjejeng!

Mr Malaysia 2003/2004 and MISS MALAYSIA DIVA PAGEANT 2003/2004

Opening was some shows from some paperdoll dancers. Great show though. Pastu the mc was great. Talk here talk there, sampai lupa nak get the ball rolling. Keji tak? Ehehehe. So when the music started, there we went, parading in our State costumes, with our Mr state sendirian berhad lah. Me had my Mr. Penang by myside� so cute� so fair, so� so�so� *sigh* so lembut! Sedeh! I had this big smile of my face when I walked down the steps to the stage, through the crowds, roaring and cheering for me! And not to mention to some other contestants also la kan. And then lepas dah catwalk segala malai, came the introduction round. Me as usual did my normal opening speech macam states selections dulu tu la, ade la lebih sana sini sikit.

�Assalamualaikum and a very good evening Malaysia! 24 years old, 5�11� and 125pounds, and countin� em down still, came all the way from the historical island known as The Pearl of the Orient, I�m Nur Lea Laurielle Lai Lee Abdullah, proudly representing, PENANG!� And yes, the usuals, the crowd went wild! Good I jual nearly 30 tickets to crew members and my outsider friends� ehehehehe� SATU BUS tu� ekekek.

Ok lepas semue contestants dah siap bercerekarama berdialog berceloteh semue tu, berintroduksi semue for BOTH categories, we all catwalked one by one again, for a minute or so, then we went back to the changing room and changed into our Evening wear/ formal wear for Mr Malaysia candidates. Mine, was like, memenuhi citarasa contest. Nothing too modern, nothing too old. Oh! Miss Peraks� dress, MEMANG cantik; IF THE PINK WAS NOT MATCHED WITH GOLD LINING INSIDE THE PINK LACE! Ewww! But great design and she pakai it very like, cantik la on her! Coz she�s fair, kan� Ehehehe

Before we, Miss Malaysia girls came down, the Mr Malaysia finalist paraded first. Tak perlu I reviewkan pasal diaorang ek?

So lepas Mr Malaysia finalists came out in their formal wear, baru we came down from the spiral staircase, down to the dance floor, through the audience, and then up to the stage where Fazli (the one of the finalist in Malaysian Idol tu ler), he was up there, on the stage, taking one contestant at a time by the hands, sambil dia menyanyi lagu BEAUTIFUL MARIA live! Ok! Memang sedap! Meremang bulu roma dengar suara dia live menyanyi sambil like, memberi tangannye, menyambut my hand, up to the stage. Sweet sangat! So catwalk pi catwalk mai, tu la� habis lah sudah contest two category tu. Nampak macam cepat kan? Sbb it�s in here, kalau actual malam tu, boleh tahan lamanye jugak sebab each contestant took their own sweeeeeeeet time feeling feeling lebih atas stage tu. Ehehehehe I know I DID TOO! Ehehe.

So lepas tu, ade some shows, and then they called us up to the stage again. This time, the subsidiary titles�

-Miss Personality: Miss Penang
-Miss Hot Favourite: Miss Penang
-Miss Exotic Look: Miss Perak
-Miss Body Beautiful: Miss Negeri Sembilan *BIG HUGE MISTAKE FOR THE NIGHT!!! They salah announced the winner, which was supposed to be ME! Waktu tu muka I dah masam a bit, crowd yang tahu about this pun semuenye hairan. I was a bit upset. MOTIF salah sebut pemenang!!?!?!
-Best Legs: Miss Penang
-Best Traditional Wear: Miss Perak
-Best Evening Wear: Miss Penang
-Miss Congeniality: Miss Selangor
-Overall winner for Miss Malaysia Swimwear round: Miss Penang and Miss Perak

Mr Malaysia punye results nak jugak ke? Tak ingat lah� sorry! Top 5 ingat lah! Ehehehe
And then later was the final top 5 results: Twas in no merit order;
1. Miss Kelantan 1. Mr Sarawak
2. Miss Perak 2. Mr Selangor
3. Miss Negeri Sembilan 3. Mr Negeri Sembilan
4. Miss Malacca 4. Mr Johor
5. Miss Penang 5. Mr Pahang

At this point, I was so surprised Miss Selangor and Miss Pahang didn�t make it into the top 5. Miss Selangor won Miss Congen� Miss Pahang was overall 2nd best in Malam Berkemban� How could that be? Macam, pelik ah!? Tapi yang penting, PERAK was in top 5! Habis lah aku! As for Mr, erm, nak komen ke? Tak yah la ek?

So here comes the Q and A session. I will NOT tell the details of Miss Kelantan, Miss Malacca�s Q and A session. Cannot. Sedeh sangat lah! Bukan hina, tapi sedeh! Sbb tu I tannak letak. Kang ape orang kata. I saje nak buruk2kan diaorang. Tannak ah!

*Shit! It�s 2am already! Tak habis2 lagik nih!*

(MY ANSWERS FOR MISS PERAK AND MISS NEGERI SEMBILAN, SEINGAT2 I LA OK? IN MY WORDS LAH. TAPI WHAT I TULIS HERE, SIKIT2 SAMA LA MACAM APA DIAORANG CAKAP TU)

So q and a session Perak was like this; she pilih judge Maria Farida�s question;

MF: Miss Perak, you think you stand a chance to win tonight?

MP: Terima kasih daun keladi diatas soalan yang telah diberi. Saya rasa, semua peserta pada malam ini ada peluang masing2 utuk menang. Tapi semuanye bergantung kepada cara pembawakan diri masing2 dan jugak kita tidak patut tolak ketepi soal nasib. Bagi saya, berada di tangga top 5 ini sudah cukup bererti dan saya rasa peluang saya masih ada untuk menang, akan tetapi, menilai persoalan NASIB? Saya masih tidak mampu menjawab. Terima kasih.

*a very safe and intelligent answer, she was good!

Q and a for Negeri was something like this; she picked Zul Yahya�s question;

ZY: Sekiranya anda boleh tanye sesuatu pada saya, apakah yang akan anda tanyekan?

MNS: Emmm� bila nak kawin?

*she was funny. she tackled the q well. The crowd loved this girl so much that suddenly I felt, threatened.

And I picked Syed- Erra’s Managers’ question which went something like this;

S:If you were given that chance to live your life again as someone else, who would you be and why?

ME: If I have that chance, I would probably choose to relive my life as myself again. I�ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, and I�ve learned a lot from my many mistakes. And so, if I had to relive my life again, I would only wanna be myself as I know now what to do to make me a better person and wont be repeating the same mistakes again� Thank you.

*I know twas a bit running here running there hiding behind the bush before I get to my point, but twas a good answer, kan? Ceh puji lagik!

Lepas tu Mr Malaysia pulak buat Q and A�and then bla bla bla bla. Ade lah dalam setengah jam tunggu, results out. Setengah jam tu, ade la stand up comedies, shows and bla bla bla. So waktu menunggu tu lah, amik kesempatan bergambar lah, bergossip lah, touch up la. Me? Isap rokok and put my contact lense eye drop. Pedih / kering sangat mata malam tu! Touch up muka sikit. Amik gambar. Then they called us all up for the results. They announced serentak� here we go! The results!

- 4th Runner-up (5th Place): Mr Johor and Miss Kelantan
- 3rd Runner-up (4th Place): Mr Sarawak and Miss Malacca
- 2nd Runner-up (3rd Place): Mr Negeri Sembilan and Miss Negeri Sembilan

Then� they called up the last two candidates for Mr Malaysia to step forward. Then they announced the winner; 1st Runner-up was Mr Selangor and the new Mr Malaysia 2003/2004 was Mr Pahang (expected) So crowning and bla bla bla semua dah settle� Happy� Tunggu la dia kat situ for his MS Malaysia, hehhee! God! He wish!

Then, about Miss Malaysia�
MC: Would the two lovely ladies please step forward pls. This is a very intense moment for both of you, I know, but need me to remind here, to both of you and to everyone; IF for whatever reason the new Miss Malaysia Diva 2003/2004 cannot, by any chance, fulfill her duties and reign as the new title holder, then, the 1st Runner-up will take up her place. This is it. You girls are ready?

By waktu nih, Miss Perak dah pegang2 tangan I dah. And we were like whispering to each other. She said �You�re gonna win� and I said �NO, you will win, girl�� Walhal I wanted to win the title soooo much!

MC: Ladies, what can I say? You two are fabulous, you two looked absolutely radiant and perfectly beautiful, but the judges had come to their decisions and there can only be one winner for tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you, the 1st Runner-up, she is� *slowly the MC jalan towards Miss Perak and then pegang her shoulders and then the crowd started screaming, PENANG! PERAK! PERAK! PERAK PERAK!* YES� the 1st runner-up is Miss Perak and YOU! Miss Penang, IS THE NEW MISS MALAYSIA DIVA 2003/2004 !!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Tears fell right off my eyes as they the DJ pasangkan lagu ONE IN A MILLION!!! MY SONG! Hugged Miss Perak who was also in tears (frust kot? Ke tumpanghappy dia kalah I menang? Hmmm) And then waved sekejaps kat audience! And then still in tears, I got crowned by Sara Loo, Ex Miss Malaysia (tahun berapa tah) and dapat all my sash, tropphy, crown, bla bla bla bla. Semuenye la. God! What did I feel waktu tu? SPEECHLESS! Am on top of my world, of everything! I WON! I was like, MISS MALAYSIA!!!!!!!

And then there was the group hugs, friend hugs, lover hugs, ooopps! Ex by now! Ehehehe. Amik gambar nan stop… still in tears… Make up still maintain… jumpe judges, borak kejap, photos, ade this one fella interviewed me a bit (dunt know whatever happened to him and his interview tu.. hmmm) And then packed stuffs, and brambus balik awal sbb waktu semue ended semue tu dah 1.30am kot. At 6am was my pick-up for my morning Amsterdam flight! Eheheh.. Pergi jugak tu! Dalam keadaan ohhh gumbira!!! Walaupun tak cukup tidur tapi ku tetap gumbira!!! Eheheheh

So that was pretty much it. Perjalanan I dari one of the contestants for Miss Penang state selections till the night I was crowned Miss Malaysia 2003/2004. FYI, my reign ended already last year when I crowned 2004/2005’s winner… Anyways, twas great sharing the joy and experiences with everyone. I dont mind sharing since twas a great memories puun, kan? Well, kesimpulannye… Been there, done that, as MISS MALAYSIA DIVA 2003/2004…

The end

A Walk To Remember – [MISS MALAYSIA DIVA PAGEANT 2003/2004] Part III

Ladies and Gentlemen; Here we go. On to the third chap, second last to this epic all-out-truth of my Miss Malaysia Diva Pageant 2003/2004.

Ok so� I�ve told everyone about how I got interested of joining the pageant, sampai lah I lalui liku2 nak pilih which state to compete for, sampai lah I got the title of Miss Penang 2003/2004� And so here�s the thing. PRELIMINARY ROUND � the Malam Berkemban ( Traditional Swim Attire for the Malays)� On that night, the judges will decide who will win three subsidiary titles; MISS EXOTIC LOOK, MISS BODY BEAUTIFUL and MISS BEST LEGS�

October 1st 2003 � Venue : The Bleu Bar Kuala Lumpur

The stage was set! Platforms here and there. Crowds makin ramai datang � UNEXPECTEDLY sbb MALAM BERKEMBAN? Sounded macam boring jer kan? So anyways, I was like terkejut jugak ramai yang datang. Not to my mention a lot of my cabin crew friends, stewards and stewardesses, straight and non straight semue ade to cheer me up.

In the changing room, semuenye berbatik lepas, berkemban, in their own ways, pilihan warna batik masing2. I went for GREEN� yes, again. Batik biasa tu, Kak Vee cut it to make it as batik lepas, and started melilit mengikat around my body. She did a wonderful job when she tied my batik lepas to the back and made it looked like a butterfly thingie just behind my back. How creative, and yes, HOW CEPAT some of the other contestants tiru jugak. ME being in kindda like bad mood, terus sound politely yet FIRMLY� �I�m sure your make up artists can do wonders. Why must ikut cara orang? Tak der identity sendiri ke? Anyways it�s cool that we might have the same style mengikat kain batik lepas kite but the way we handle �em, well, lets just let the judges decide�� Ade yang terasa, terus bukak ikatan and buat ikatan baru. Ehehehehe

My runner-up pulled out the last minute. Katanye ade something on. And ade jugak other states yang EITHER the runner-up tarik diri OR the actual State winner tarik diri so the runner-up took the place of becoming the States rep. All together malam tu we should have like 30 girls� tapi yang ade, 19 ke 20� I pun dah tak ingat� and I pun dah tak ingat which states yang ade dua wakil or what not. For sure yang I TAHU, my toughest fight for that night would be my runner-up, (who pulled out), Miss Perak rep and Miss Pahang rep, runner-up Miss Selangor and Miss Wilayah Persekutuan KL. But yang paling dekat fightnye for me that night was Miss Perak, Ayang Karmell.

Contest begun. Kak Vee was excited and nervous for me� touch up last minit sikit� and then off I went up on the stage. Did the same intro I did when I competed for Miss Penang State Selection � Only this time I felt tergugat sikit sebab Miss Perak did a wonder act with PANTUN as her intro, Miss Pahang siap MENYANYI as her intro� Miss Johor 1st runner-up siap bersyair lagi. God! I felt like, ok, I may have screwed my intro. But am not gonna screw anything else afterwards. So I did catwalk, very perempuan perempuan Melayu malu gittu, as choreographed, heart skipped a bit one too many times. Smiled throughout the whole contest, crowd roared and cheered, not mention jeered a bit, but not on my though� ehehehe� and then twas time for that one and one Q and A session with the MC.

MC : Miss Penang, could you pls step forward. Now Miss Penang, tell us, in your opinion, kenape ye, Penang is sooo special? Ape yang buatkan Penang so menarik to the eyes of the world�

THIS TIME AROUND I WAS PREPARED � I think�

ME : Well, thank you for the question. Bagi pandangan saya, ape yang buatkan Pulau Pinang itu menarik and fascinating to the eyes of the world would only be it�s white sandy beaches and it�s peaceful, different types and colours of community on the island. And how could you resist the sweet temptations of the islands� local FOOD! Food is Penang best thing to offer, dari makanan Melayu, to makanan Cina, to makanan India and the list goes on. You name it, you got it! And that�s why I�m proud to be a Penangite, and representing it here in the pageant, to the eyes of the world. Thank you, terima kasih.

And yes I ended it with a big smile again on my face as the crowd really went out of my expectations. Roared like nobody�s business. Ade yang screamed �THE CROWN IS YOU LAH PENANG!� Hehehehe

Then there�s the results part. Patiently waiting. Tonight�s 3 subsidiary winners will bring no technical points to the finals. However, the three top scores OVERALL akan dibawa ke malam finals. Tonights malam berkemban akan diambil 20 points to the total scores for the finals. Results out�

Miss Exotic Look � Miss Perak State Rep
Miss Body Beautiful � Miss Penang State Rep
Miss Best Legs � Miss Penang State Rep

Well, I kindda like expected to best legs thingie, but Miss Body Beautiful? God! I was shocked! So dalam tangan sekarang I dah pegang RM500 as each sub awards carries RM250. Ehehehe� and then for the top three high scores�

With the total composite scores of 17.5/20, was Miss Pahang state rep� then came in ME, Miss Penang state rep, with 19.3/20, then the nights overall winner was� was� WE HAD A TIE! Yes. Miss Penang state rep seri, sama markahnye dengan Miss� PERAK state rep! God! I was smiling. Crowd was� hmmm� mixed reactions� Ade yang roar ade yang jeered� how could this be? I mean, Perak and Penang? TIE? Walhal I lebih 2 sub awards. But after thinking for awhile, wait a minute, sub awards did carry any points, kan? So maybe Ayang Karmell was very good that night� well� what to do. Rezeki I was just to share the points with Miss Perak State Rep� We were the nights� winner. No 2nd place winner� just two first place winners and third place winner. That�s fair enough I guess� We�ll just have to break the tie points during the finals!

Next blog entries:
PART IV Miss Malaysia Diva 2003/2004 Pageant final night.

A Walk To Remember – [MISS MALAYSIA DIVA PAGEANT 2003/2004] Part II

Ladies and Gentlemen; Welcome back�

Now� kat mana dah kite? Oh ha� part II. THE STATE SELECTIONS

From the day I decided to masuk Miss Penang State selections, to the actual day of competition, dekat nak 2 week jugak la. Everything was set. Make up artiste dah ade, my traditional state costume dah ade, accessories dah ade, shoes, yes� everything dah ready except for one thing� my introductions! I know mostly about WP and SEL, KED jangan tanye lah. But Penang? Ape yang I tahu about Penang? God! Help me!

Time time tu lah I started gabra carik kawan2 yang asal Penang ke or at least ade tahu menahu about Penang. I know Penang in general. But to win, and get the judges attention, and to make people believe that I know what I�m talking about, I need to do my homework. Masuk beauty pageants nih, it�s not always about �how you walk, how you standout the rest , how you catwalk and show your breast?� � hey it rhymes� hehehe. Anyways. It�s about having the brains as well� It�s about being sensitive to your surroundings i.e. the judges, the audience� the aura around you. Semue tu penting. So finally I managed to get some bit infos just a day before the state selections. Pening jugak nak menghafal my introduction lines.

September 10th 2003

Competition was said to start off at 10pm. So me and Vee dah got things ready, starting at 7.30pm. She siap make up and did my hair semue around 9.30. Then on we went to the club. As we arrived, I felt it already. NO, bukannye felt winning! Ish. I bukannye thatttt over confident ok! I felt a bit nervous la. Tu jer. Crowd ramai� as I entered the changing room, I saw like 9 people, all geared up, ready to give out their best. And when they saw me coming into the room, they were like �you�re not entering, are you?�� I just smiled and get things ready. Couldn�t be bothered nak dgr diaorang mengumpat ke, whatever ke. I had to get ready. Vee make up kan, vundabar! Memang meletop! So Chinese sikit dia make upkan I for that night as I go with a sort of a Chinese name�

Somewhere after 1/2 hour after we arrived, I dah siap salin to my state contemporary outfit, hair make up all out� contest began. Pilih number, I was lucky number 1 to go out. Ade baik buruknye dapat jadi peserta pertama nih. Baiknye, you get to set the paste, the standard. Tinggi you set, susah la yang after you tu semue nak kejar. Buruknya, you tak dapat nak see how far or how well the others can go or do, so that you have time to prepare backstage. Tapi, twas time for me to go first. So be it la kan�

Held up the mic, softly yet clearly said � �Assalamualaikum, dan Salam Sejahtera Ladies and Gentlemen, Tuan2 dan Puan2 sekalian. Wa ae mia si Lauriellai Lee, I�m 24 years old, dan saya datang dari negeri yang penuh dengan kepelbagaian bangsa dan tradisi, The Pearl of the Orient, the treasured island of, Penang!!!

As I held up my hand to wave the audience, they sort of like gave me, this one, big applause for me and I was like, �OK, I think I do this right!�

MC came up to me� he asked the standard q
MC: Miss Lee, pls, ye, tolong terangkan for us all, apakah yang dipakai oleh anda sekarang? Terang for us all, what is it that you�re wearing right now?

I took the liberty of being a bit funny sbb sebelum2 nih I tgk state selections yang lain, contestants semuenye serious je?

Me: What is it that am wearing now? Well, I�m sure it�s not called sport attire? Hehe (The crowd laughed a bit with me) On a serious note, what am wearing now in the traditional Kebaya Nyonya, with some added modern flavour, it�s what I call contemporary design, made to enhance the sweetly traditional design of this stunning outfit. (At the background, I heard someone shouted �Hey ini Miss Malaysia, bukannye Miss Overseas� cakap lah Melayu! It hit me like, sakitnye hati aku! Tak pe. Tunggu kau! Spontaneously I went on like this) I love you too honey!� (Having said that with a big smile on my face, the crowd really went wild applauding for me)

MC: It�s time for your second q. Choose a judge from this bowl.

And so I picked up number 2. And the judge was the top model, Ursya�

Ursya: Miss Lee, tell us the differences between Baba Nyonya Penang, Melaka and Singapore?

Tertelan kejap air liur aku! I mean, I didn�t expect this q! After pausing for while, took a deep breathe, gave a big friendly smile, and then I answered this�

Me: Perbezaan Baba Nyonya Penang, Melaka and Singapore? Hmmm� Although I nak cakap pasal perbezaan dari segi pemakanan, I pulak yang not so sure about it, sebabnye I pun bukannye from that, erm, keturunan. Sorry for being blunt, but I�m just being me. So my answer would be, the differences between the three keturuan Baba Nyonyas, is simply, erm, ehheeh (yes I actually giggled a bit ) Baba Nyonya Penang lives in Penang, Melaka lived the Baba Nyonya Melaka� and what can I say about the last one? Yes� they come from Singapore. Thank you�

Pathetic answer, yes? But at least, itu yang termampu dipikirkan oleh otak I nih at that time. So, what to do? But the crowd sure loved me and my answer as I catwalked for like for 1 minute, they cheered for me as though I already won my placing. Hehehe� I was lucky�

And so like the contests went on and all the other 9 contestants did the same thing I did but I think I�ve set up a high paste� I think. Although a pinch of me ade jugak menyatakan yang I screwed up big time but hey, I was just being Lea� the funny non edited version�

After nearly an hour plus, results are up. Tension jugak. Seriously takut� Vee kept on askin� me to keep my fingers crossed.

MC: Tonight�s state selection has got to be the toughest one, as there were two best and outstanding contestants. But the judges had already decided who wins the title, and the other one would be runner-up to the title. But let me remind everyone again that both contestants would be in the running for the title of Miss Malaysia Diva 2003/2004. Here we go. Good luck to each and everyone of you. The 10 of you looked amazingly beautiful but only two would go on in the running for that RM5000 main cash prize� And the 1st runner-up to the title is contestant number 3, Miss Nurnilam Sari!!!!

Yes� at that moment. I had that feeling I could just win. Sbb to me, Nurnilam Sari was like the best out of the rest and she could just be the only to give me �competitions�. So since she got 2nd , ehehe.. I can only giggle to know that I could be walking home that night with the title of Miss Penang/ Malaysia Diva 2003/2004�

MC: And� the winner for tonight, who will walk away with a sash, a certificate, a trophy and cash of RM500 and also a bouquet of roses, is, by only having 3 points away from the runner-up is, Miss Lee. Miss Lauriellai Lee!!! Contestant number 1!

Oh yes� I won� I won! Ehehehe� And so, me and Nurnilam Sari, made it to the finals. We�re like the 25th and 26th contestants to go to finals, out of 30. Tingal lagi 2 states, Kelantan and Terengganu, 2 from each states, so that means another 4 winners to go to the finals.

And so contestant number 3, Nurnilam Sari won 1st runner-up and I won the Penang State title, even by just 3 points. I admitted what she was a tough fight but I had my methods� didn�t I?

Next blog entries:
PART III The Preliminary Round
PART IV Miss Malaysia Diva 2003/2004 Pageant final night.

-A Walk To Remember – [MISS MALAYSIA DIVA PAGEANT 2003/2004] Part I

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In this 4 parts entry, I will basically tell all the fun and exciting things happening prior to Miss Malaysia Diva Pageant 2003/2004. From the state-selections, to the preliminary rounds and to the final night of the pageant� Everything, all out! Believe me, t�was a lifetime experience one could possible asks for. Dalam entry nih, I akan write everything yang I dah lalui from A to Z� Well� hopefully I still ingat la kan? Hehehe� don�t worry. Boleh kot�

June 2003
The news is out! Miss Malaysia Diva Pageant 2003/2004, organized by The Bleu Bar Managements, will be held in Dec 2003! The winner will walk away for a grand cash prize of RM5000, plus other attractive prizes. The news it out, a lot have been hoo-haa-�ing� here and there. And yes, I heard about it. A lot of my friends told me to participate, and try the state-selections thingie. I wanted to enter the pageant, but since I was busy flying here and there, I kept of like, erm, unable to see whats goin� on during the state-selections. Mengharapkan kengkawan jer lah tolong CNNkan kat I� Hehehehehe
The scenario was like this. The State-Selections will choose the best two. Hmmm� how do I put this into easy to understand words ek? Ok ok� I got.

Malaysia ade, 15 States. So every week, on Wednesday nights, kat the Bleu Bar Club, diaorang akan buat State Selections. Anyone was eligible to participate. Participation fee was like only RM50 � Kalau dapat ke Finals, Alhamdulillah. Kalau tak dapat, RM50 tu kire burn ah! Ehehehe. Anyways, in the State-selections, the contestants had to do a brief intro, and answer two qs. One q was from the MC, which was to answer a q, like, explaining ape yang kite tgh pakai, ape kaitannye dengan Negeri yang kite nak wakili, and then answer the second q, which the q datangnye dari one of the three professional judges. And then you do your catwalk thingie� and that was it! Tunggu lah results. Malam tu jugak results keluar. The best two, will go to the finals. Kire dalam state-selections, The Winner for State and the runner-up will represent the State to the Finals.

State Selections
June 18th � Miss Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan
June 25th � Miss Sabah
July 2nd � Miss Sarawak
July 9th � Miss Johor
July 16th � Miss Melaka
July 23rd � Miss Negeri Sembilan
July 30th � Miss Wilayah Persekutuan
Aug 6th � Miss Selangor
Aug 13th � Miss Pahang
Aug 20th � Miss Perak
Aug 27 � Miss Kedah
Sep 3rd � Miss Perlis
Sep 10th � Miss Penang
Sep 17th � Miss Kelantan
Sep 24 � Miss Terengganu

Preliminaries
Oct 1st

Finals
Dec 20th

So ceritanye I, katanye, nak go for Wilayah Persekutuan at first. Tapi pikir-pikir balik, baik ambil Selangor, since July 30th yang for Miss Wilayah Persekutuan punye state selections, I was suppose to fly somewhere. So nevermind, I decided to take up Selangor. But then, Miss Selangor selections, only on August 6th. Waktu tgh kelam kabut tu, twas only like in late June. July punye roster dah out. That�s why I tahu I can�t compete for Wilayah Persekutan. Tapi, nak ambil Selangor, it�s it August. So basically I have to wait for mid July for my Augusts� roster to come out, and check lor, tengok roster, fly ke tidak. Tapi I dah called rostering department, mintak off on August 5th to 7th. So in the mean time, ade jugak pergi tgk selections states lain. Ade yang funny, ade yang serious, ade yang �Seriously you�re in the wrong contest?� Haa� yeap� that bad.

So after patiently menunggu� bile datangnye somewhere on 20th of July, roster flying I for August 2003 pun out. Check punye check, chis! I fly! The dates yang I requested tu, nan-adonye cuti! Geram sangat. Rase cam nak mc jer tapi, I said to myself, nevermind. Wilayah Persekutuan dah terlepas� Selangor no can do. Nevermind, why don�t I try Kedah. I don�t mind wakili tanahtumpahnye family I� hehehe.

Tapi as I touched down from London on August 26th pagi, petang tu I had some family matters that required me to fly back to Alor Star and yes, MELEPAS lagi ler state selections for Kedah. Dah elok elok cuti on August 27th tu, dah ade family matters kat kampung. I was like, mula to think that ade reason ke why semuenye asyik melepas je? Macam tak der rezeki nak kasik I masuk compete jer?

So banyak lah desas desus I dengar about me not competing; me scared la, me takut kalah la, that�s why tak masuk any of the state selections, tapi diaorang tahu ke the main reason? Tak semua tahu. Yang tahu are those whom I called, friends� And cerita yang I tak masuk pasal tak der sponsor pun ade jugak! Keji tau! Dan, cerita nih jatuh ketelinga one of our local designer, Abang Roy *NOTE � Not his real name*, yang boleh dikira like one of my best buddies, and favourite designer of all times�

So one day tah macam mana tah Abang Roy called me up and said;

Abang Roy : Ape nih abang dengar awak tak nak masuk Miss Malaysia sebab tak der sponsor?

Me : Astaga� siapa cakap?

Abang Roy : Kecoh lah satu Bukit Bintang!!

Me : Ish! Mana ade. Sebenarnye tak dapat cuti le� tu yang tak mampu nak masuk tu. Bukan pasal sponsor ape semue nye tu. I mean, kalau nak spend cari some nice traditional costume, I tak kisah Abang. I could always ask from you, kan? Tapi� cuti tu ha� sentap!

Abang Roy : Now dah negeri mana dah?

Me : Tah� tak amik tahu pun. Dah malas dah. Give up dah.

Abang Roy : Jangan cam tu. Awak leh menang lah. Abang tgk state state lain, biasa jer. Gedebas awak masuk, comfirm menang.

Me : Tah la Abang� I heard ade empat states jer lagi. Penang, Perlis � Kelan� (belum sempat nak habis nih)

Abang Roy : Ambil Penang! Abang ade kebaya Nyonya utk awak, memang meletop!

Me : La Abang nih. Kan orang cakap, orang tak dapat cuti. Hari Miss Penang Selections pun tak tentu fly ke tidak. Tak check pun roster.

Abang Roy : Dah keluar ke belum roster?

Me : Dah� bulan August nye dah keluar minggu lepas. But couldn�t be bothered nak check pun.

Abang Roy : Gi la check! Tunggu apa lagi. Ish dia ni!

And there it was� 9th and 10th of August 2003, OFF � 11th August � Fukuoka.
How could have I missed that info!?!?! God! Maybe because I was upset and already given up hope for it sebab 3 kali dah frust tertungging punye pasal, tak dapat nak compete for WP, SEL and KED� Tak sangka when all doors were shut tight, somehow one of the window was still open up for me� and yes, it was Miss Penang State Selections.

And so from there, bersemangat kental balik la. Sibuk nih carik some of my professional make up artiste friends yang boleh make up kan I. I mean, I do know how to do my own make up but when it comes to competing, I think it�s best that I relax and let the make up people do their work, right? Then sibuk masuk keluar masuk keluar boutique Abang Roy. Fitting the kebaya nyonya yang dia kata meletop tu. MEMANG va va vast! Twas in green� the kebaya top was a see-through chiffon material with a green and gold songket corset inside, with a matching green batik. Classic! And then off I went with my friend, Vee, cari accessories to go with my looks, and some hair clips, diamonds and what not. Vee, also will be my make up artist, who agreed upon doing my make up for the state selections, to the preliminaries to the finals, InsyaAllah me and her said. But at that time, not to win the top 2 spots yang I nak� It�s WINNING THE STATE title yang I aim for. Tahu la the 1st runner-up pun get to go the finals with the State Winner, tapi, self satisfactionsnye, ade ke? Nan ado! That�s why I aimed to win Miss Penang 2003/2004.

Next blog entries:
PART II Miss Penang State Selection
PART III The Preliminary Round
PART IV Miss Malaysia Diva 2003/2004 Pageant final night.