Natural beauty, natural talent ― Hannie Phang
In a recent interview with the New Sarawak Tribune, Hannie shared her experiences after being crowned the overall winner of the Classic Mrs. Asia International 2019 Global grand prize in December, “I tried my best, but at the same time I told myself to be relaxed, and just treat it as a show.”
“I had to refrain myself from thinking that I must win the crown, to avoid myself from getting pressured and thus getting nervous on stage,” she continued.
“This is especially during the grand final, as we only had one full rehearsal and I have to remember all the steps and most importantly, the different areas on the stage that I had to stand on during the 4 rounds of appearance. Good memory and concentration were important.”
She cited that some of the participants got nervous and forgot some important steps during the final presentation.
There were three rounds of presentation for the final presentation. The first was in traditional costume, which she wore a traditional Malay costume, the second round was sportswear and the third round was the evening gown, which then leads to the coronation ceremony.
During the coronation, Hannie disclosed that she was surprised to be announced as the overall winner, as she did not expect to win. She admitted that she faced some very strong ‘rival’ contestants who were far more experienced and had been taking part in beauty pageants, modelling and other stage performances, while Hannie herself only had a little over two years of experiences.
When asked about her secret in capturing the crown, she instantaneously recalled the comment from the chief judge, who initially said that “Beauty is not only the physical appearance but more importantly, the beauty of the heart.” In another word, besides stage presentations, a caring heart is also needed to win the competition.
She recalled that there was an older contestant from Myanmar who was 68 years old, and had some problem with her legs when she was walking. So Hannie accompanied her and helped her all the way, including getting on and off staircases and buses, through out the week-long activities of training, photography session, visiting, publicity and charity activities as well as during rehearsals. This was noted by the judges and they added credit to her final scores, which Hannie was initially not aware of.
She also commented that showing good manner and etiquette all the time, both on and off the stage, was also important to all the contestants.
To keep her fit, she explained that it is important to get enough sleep. Sleeping and waking up early everyday, and eating moderately are her usual practice. She also notes that being positive and having a cheerful outlook on life will help create a pleasant appearance for us.
Hannie’s talent was first discovered by an event organiser in Kuching, the Super Vision Event Enterprise when she appeared as a guest singer in the Phang Clan Association dinner two years ago. Under the encouragement of friends and the organiser, she reluctantly enrolled in a beauty pageant called “Charming Mothers’ Beauty Pageant” in Kuching where she was announced as the runner-up.
Then she was persuaded again to join the Cheongsam Beauty Contest organised by the Foochow Association in conjunction with the Moon Cake Festival 2018 where she unexpectedly emerged as champion.
In 2018, she won a third prize in another Cheongsam beauty contest held in Boulevard Kuching. She then proceeded to participate in the Mrs. Worldwide Inter-Continental Beauty Pageant held in Penang on March 2019 and emerged as champion in the Classic category.
In June 2019, she won the championship title in classic category of the Mrs. Global Oriental Beauty pageant, which was held in Alor Setar, Kedah. She was also appointed as the Cheongsam Ambassador during the pageant.
With all these titles to her credit, she was selected to represent Malaysia in the Mrs. Asia International 2019 Pageant World Final in Mandalay City, Myanmar, in December 8 to 15 2019.
Hannie, a mother of three children and grandmother to two grandchildren, beat 29 other contestants from various countries to be was crown the Classic Mrs. Asia International 2019 Global grand prize.
This is the first time a Sarawakian represented Malaysia in the Classic Mrs. Asia and the first time a Malaysian contestant won the crown for the Classic Mrs. Asia International Pageant.
With the victory, Hannie will represent the Asia region to vie for the title in the Classic Mrs. World 2020 beauty pageant to be held in California, USA on June 21, 2020.
Preparing herself to represent Asia in her first ever international pageant, she admitted that she had to look up videos on YouTube, researching past beauty pageants to get some ideas and knowledge on the pageant.
Hannie in her casual attire. 
Hannie’s talent was first discovered by an event organiser in Kuching when she appeared as a guest singer in a dinner function. 
Catwalk in the evening gown during the contest.
The Mrs. Asia International Pageant organised by ERM Marketing is an extravaganza platform where married and senior ladies — young wives, mothers and even grandmothers from Asian countries or Asians from other parts of the world are eligible to participate, to showcase their beauty, talents and success in a more contemporary and glamorous approach.
It was divided into two categories — Mrs. Asia for married ladies aged 40 and below, and Classic Mrs. Asia for those between 40 to 70.
