KAPIT: Bukit Goram assemblyman Jefferson Jamit Unyat lauded the Sarawak Paperbeads for its initiative to organise the Miss Grand Kapit 2019 for the second time.
He was impressed with the Bollywood celebration theme which saw a dance party and the contestants dressing up in Bollywood-inspired outfits.
He said the collaborative effort with Persatuan Kapit Tari and other partners and sponsors is a good training ground for organising international beauty pageants in the future.
“Organising beauty pageants is nothing uncommon for the people of Kapit as we already have our Kumang Gawai contest, Kapit Fest Beauty contest and so forth.
“However, tonight we see something different from the with a more elegant and lively environment that was blended with splendid cultural performances and presentation , a testimony of the creditability and professionalism of the organising committee,” said Jamit while officiating at the coronation night of Miss Grand Kapit 2019 held at the Civic Centre here on Saturday evening.
He said that the beauty pageant serves as a platform for women to explore their talents along with their beauty.
At the same time, he also said it was good in recognising charismatic and talented women and giving them a shot at their dreams.
“This event also provides an opportunity for them to build confidence and face the public. To win a beauty pageant is a great prestige as well as responsibility for her as she not only earned fame and popularity, but also becomes a public personality.
“In short, she becomes a role model especially for the youths. So, I believe that she should be an avid believer in dedication, positivity, hard work and passion to help the needy by involving herself in social services as much as she can and to promote the culture and traditional activities,” he said.
Jamit then explained that women who have participated in beauty pageants also learn many skills that help to life them up, such as skills in public speaking, leadership and answering questions in interviews.
“On an individual level, the competition gives them the opportunity to enrich not only their own lives, but the lives of others.
“Pageants provide the perfect opportunity for them to fulfill their ambitions and develop themselves,” he said.
He said that Miss Grand Kapit provides a healthy avenue for young women in the area as a stepping stone to advance their careers.
“This is a stepping stone for career advancement. I was told the top two winners will automatically qualify to Miss Grand Sarawak in March, whereby they will be trained and prepared to compete in the state-level pageant.
On the role of social media in the pageant, he said that social media is one of the channels used for promotion and exposure as Miss Grand Kapit 2019’s Facebook fan page has reached a target audience of about 53,000.
At the function, Jamit contributed RM5,000 to the organising committee.
Meanwhile, Elaine Yu was crowned as Miss Grand Kapit 2019, with Jesmarymurat Janin and Gloria Wanice Gisang in second and third place, respectively.
The winners of the subsidiary titles were Mary Ann Tra Harold (Darling of the Crowd), Elaine Yu (Best Catwalk), Amylia Minggu (Miss Congeniality Sarawak Paperbeads) and Natasha Christopher (Miss Photogenic).
With that win, the top two winners will represent Kapit in this year’s “Miss Grand Sarawak 2019” to be held in Sibu from March 18 to 20.
Present together at the function were political secretary to the Chief Minister Nicholas Kudi Jantai, Temenggong Wilfred Billy Panyau, organising chairperson Adina Sana, Sarawak Paperbeads founder Che Wek, and chairperson Teresa Noel and Persatuan Kapit Tari chairman Kong Koh Ming.
