Cindy (centre) will represent Sabah in the Miss Malaysia Tourism finals, together with first runner-up Claudieyamax (right) and second runner-up Eleanor.
KOTA KINABALU: Freelance model Cindy Foo was crowned this year’s Miss Sabah Tourism during the state-level grand finals at Hakka Hall here on Friday night.
The 27-year-old cut her teeth starring in promotional videos to boost tourism in the Chinese market while also participating in various pageants, namely Sabah Model of the Year, Miss Earth Sabah and later Miss Earth Malaysia.
In her past endeavours, Cindy clinched the titles of Sabah Model of the Year in 2012 and Miss Sabah Air the following year.
Of all the pageants she had participated in, Cindy admitted Miss Sabah Tourism was the most well-rounded one as it helped develop participants as a whole and did not focus solely on appearances.
“Through Miss Sabah Tourism, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in various activities that bring a lot of meaning, like visiting an old folks’ home and spending time with the residents there.
“This pageant also provided public speaking lessons as well as catwalk lessons, which obviously came in very handy during the competition itself.
“We also did a lot of video shooting during this pageant, so we definitely gained a lot of exposure doing different things,” she said.
With her newly awarded title, Cindy said she would continue using her modelling platform to promote tourism, culture and friendship, in line with the pageant’s slogan.
While she has just been crowned Miss Sabah Tourism 2017, the beauty queen already has projects lined up to shoot movies in Penang later this year and in Sabah early next year, the latter of which will be introduced to the China market.
As this year’s winner, Cindy took home a cash prize of RM3,000 and a RM1,399 New York Fitness VIP membership card valid for one year.
She also received the subsidiary title of Miss New York Fitness, adopted by New York Fitness, in which she bagged another year’s VIP membership pass.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Claudieyamax Aloysius was crowned first runner-up and Eleanor Ng, 24, as second runner-up.
Each winner received cash prizes and a New York Fitness VIP membership worth RM1,399, valid for a year.
All three finalists will represent Sabah in Miss Malaysia Tourism at a later date.
Miss Sabah Tourism 2017 was organised by Poise Productions and presented by SG Group, with former Miss Malaysia Tourism 2009, Weena Marcus, as pageant State Director.
Gold sponsors of the event included Avangio Hotel, Imago Shopping Mall, New York Fitness and Sheila Liaw Make Up Academy, with silver sponsors Emvee Productions, Wilti-Jos, Pick n Pay, The Crab House Seafood Restaurant, Classic Holidays, Breeze magazine, Batik Bayu, Borneo Proboscis Destinations Sdn. Bhd. and the Sabah Tourism Board.
Also present at the grand final were Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, president and owner of Miss Malaysia Tourism Tan Sri Datuk Danny Ooi and deputy CEO of SG Group Steven Low.