Pageants in general are perceived to judge people based on their looks. However, there is more than meets the eye. They also examine their virtues. Unfortunately, it seems Miss International Malaysia didn’t vet their contestants thoroughly this time.
A Miss International Malaysia 2022 finalist, Abby Lee, recently went viral for her less-than-praiseworthy demeanour. The former finalist was caught being racist online and declaring her dislike for Malaysia and Malaysians in general. Needless to say, the backlash was overwhelming.
The news first popped up on Facebook when a user posted screenshots of Abby’s unsavoury remarks. From the way the user spoke, it seems she knows the finalist personally. “I never knew that a person who never (wanted) to admit (she is) a Malaysian (could) take up the title of Miss International Finalist,” she wrote scathingly. The user went on to claim that Abby was racist, unsupportive of Malaysia and had mocked previous pageant contestants.
The Facebook user posted several screenshots, mostly taken from Abby’s Instagram account, as proof. In one screenshot, Abby had apparently questioned why she had been born in Malaysia. “Why am I born in a kampung in Malaysia and not a big town in China?” she asked. “I love China and Japan.”
Additionally, Abby had also stated she had joined the pageant for her own interests and had nothing to do with loving Malaysia. “Those close to me have always known that I don’t even care about the country,” she wrote. “I (have) never considered myself a Malaysian and have always wanted to migrate.”
Another notable screenshot showed Abby claiming that “Muslim women (didn’t) have any status“. She also said they were a “low-class nation“. Abby constantly belittled other nations while praising the Chinese. At one point, she stated of another nation, “I will make them (into) slaves for (the) Chinese, since they like to bully (the) Chinese. Liberation army will kill them all hopefully.” She also compared herself to the previous Miss International Malaysia champion, claiming the previous champion had plastic surgery.
Abby herself made an apology on her Instagram story. However, she only apologised for mocking the previous pageant champion. As for the other allegations, Abby claimed they were baseless rumours. As such, she also apologised to Miss International Malaysia for causing them problems.
Miss International Malaysia has already removed her photo from their Instagram. It was noted that they did the removal without any explanations. Unfortunately, netizens are still very upset with Abby’s brash comments. Many have condemned her in the comments, telling her to migrate if she wishes. Others are disgusted with her remarks and some have demanded an apology to Malaysians as a whole.
Hopefully Abby learns a lesson from all this and gets off her high horse! However, we also wouldn’t be opposed to her moving away from Malaysia, if that is what she wishes. After all, she’s made her disgust for her home country and other races well-known.
You can check out the full account from the Facebook user here.
Sources: China Press, The Sun, Facebook
