Ell Qaseh is Santarina Beautiful Queen Sarawak

KUCHING: Ell Qaseh Izaz Iskandar was crowned as the Santarina Beautiful Queen Sarawak 2023.

With her victory, she will be bringing home a cash prize, crown, trophy, sash, hamper, and a gold bar.

Being crowned as the winner, the 10-year-old expressed her joy and thanked her family for their support.

“Being crowned as the Santarina Beautiful Queen Sarawak was not something that I expected because I was up against 24 other beautiful pageant contestants with their elegant dresses and amazing talents.

“Bringing home this title, I thank my family for their endless support especially my uncle, Attirmizi Aidiq Ariffin, who made my beautiful dress from scratch and for doing my makeup today,” she said when met by the New Sarawak Tribune after the event at The Spring Shopping Mall Kuching here on Saturday.

For the record, the event here organised by Abe Amir Collection was the fourth of its edition since its first organisation back in 2018.

Its organising chairman Mohamad Khairul Amir shared that the event this time around is different from the years before as they have few categories this year which are Mini Santarina (4 to 9 years old), Princess Santarina (10 to 15 years old), Miss Santarina (16 to 22 years old), and Mrs Santarina (18 years old and above).

He added that the Queen was crowned from the winners from each category.

“Moreover, for this year’s event, each finalist is given the option to represent the name of the country of their choice during the competition.

“Among the names of the countries chosen by the finalists are Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, The Philippines, Myanmar, Estonia, France, Haiti, Peru, Honduras and others,” he said.

Adding on, he also pointed out that the programme here aims to highlight Christmas and its celebration.

“Aside from this main event, we also have a gift exchange session among the finalists, judges, and crew to further strengthen their bond with one another through the gifts,” he said.

With the success of the event, Khairul expressed his hope that the pageants here can build a close relationship with one another despite being in a multiracial background.

“I also hope that through events such as this, participants can build up their self-esteem both internally and physically,” he said.