Date: 2 January 2013
Nurse takes Miss Tourism International crown.
Rizzini Alexis Gomez from the Philippines, a nurse at a
government clinic, has achieved her dream of becoming a role model to as many
people as possible when she was crowned the new Miss Tourism International.
Gomez, 22, who has been a nurse for a year, won the Miss Tourism International
(MTI) 2012 crown on New Year’s Eve.
“There are similarities to being a beauty queen and a nurse.
For both, you need to set a good example and be of service to people,” she told
The Star, fresh after returning from the New Year Countdown at Dataran Merdeka,
after she was crowned at the Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa, Petaling Jaya.
After enduring more than two weeks of non-stop promotional
appearances and having just a few hours of sleep daily, Gomez, managed to beat
55 other beauties to the crown. The Cebu-native was an obvious choice with her
warm persona and her model-like looks. “I feel very blessed to have won but it
hasn’t sunk it yet,” she said.
Gomez’s crowning also gives the Philippines its second win
in the pageant’s 16-year history. The first time that the Philippines won the
MTI was back in 2000, when Maria Esperanza was crowned and now Gomez has done
it again for her country.
Prior to her win, Poland and India were the only countries
to-date to have the distinction of winning the title twice in the pageant’s
16-year history. Now, Gomez’s 2012 win has placed the Philippines in the same
league. Poland first won for two consecutive years in 1998, when Roksana Jonek
won and in 1999, when Agnieszka Zakreta was crowned. Candice Pinto bagged the
title for India in 2001 while Manasvi Mamgai did it in 2008.
Miss Malaysia Jun Yong, 20, also did us proud by getting a
Top 5 placing in the pageant, winning the Dreamgirl of the Year 2012. She is
currently studying broadcast journalism and is also teaching kindergartedn
children Mandarin and English.
“I feel incredibly happy to have made the Top 5. The best
thing about the experience was getting to know the 55 other contestants and I
am also very happy for the other winners,” she said. Yong also bagged the Best
of Talent category for her commendable rendition of the 60s Frank Valli
classic, Can’t Take My Eyes off You — not a surprising achievement considering
that she had been performing in the National Youth Choir from the age of 10 to
12.
The others who made the MTI Top 5 were Australia’s Monika
Radulovic, 22 (Miss Tourism Metropolitan International 2012), Venezuela’s
Marielis Perez, 25 (Miss Tourism Global 2012) and Paraguay’s Lourdes Rolon, 20
(Miss Cosmopolitan International 2012).
Judges included flamboyant journalist Kee Hua Chee,
legendary 1970s singer Datuk DJ Dave (who also performed), actor and TV host
Datuk Jalaluddin Hassan. The MTI 2012 World Final was emceed by Datuk Mahadzir
Lokman, who also entertained the crowd by doing a Gangnam Style sequence and
singing the late Indonesian singer Utha Likumahua’s Logika.
Guests included Deputy Information, Communications and
Culture Minister Datuk Maglin Dennis D’ Cruz and Sunway Group founder and
chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah. The MTI
pageant was initiated by Miss Tourism International president Datuk Danny Ooi.
The world final was broadcast live on television and the Internet via RTM and
1Malaysia IPTV.
By STEVEN PATRICK metro@thestar.com.my
Copyright © 1995-2012 Star Publications (M) Bhd
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