Kimberly Leggett (centre) was labeled by the IBTimes as “too white”, a comment that has been rejected by local people in the industry
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 12 — A recent article dubbing reigning Miss Universe Malaysia Kimberley Leggett as “too white” has angered young women, who told Bikyamasr.com the international media “does not really understand Malaysia or our people.”
Chinese-Malay Sohar, 20, believes people arguing that a Malaysian is “too white” need to look closer at the country’s history and its background.
“We have so many different people in this country it is hard to say if someone is too white or too dark. And at the end of the day, should it really matter?” she argued.
Her friend, Ousmanah, 21, a practicing Muslim who is sitting anxiously for the sun to go down so she can eat, understands what the article was attempting to say, but disagrees with its premise.
“I think what they were trying to point out is that Malaysia is a brown country and that by having a Miss Universe who is whiter than the rest of the country it sends a bad message to young girls in the country,” she began.
“But, this is not how we see it as Malaysian young women. The woman who won the contest is deserving and she did all she could to win, so we should support her. The color of her skin isn’t going to change us. We aren’t like India where we strive to be so white all the time. We are Malaysian and accept our people for who they are,” she added.
The controversy began in a July 14 article published by the International Business Times titled “The Politics of Beauty: Is Malaysia’s Miss Universe Contestant Too White?,” which highlighted Malaysia as a country that “tends towards fairer-skinned beauty” to represent it in the global pageant.
The writer argued that Leggett was “too white” for the country’s predominantly brown community.
“It’s stupid to make this point, because we hadn’t thought about it and now the international media is trying to portray Malaysia as racist. Its wrong,” added Sohar.
The article said: “That Leggett’s heritage is 75 per cent white raises interesting questions about Malaysian standards of beauty. Are Western norms changing the game?”
The writer continued to argue that Leggett, with “her hazel eyes and fair skin, could easily pass as a citizen of the Euro zone.” The article also highlighted the country’s racial fabric, saying that it was very much racially segregated in terms of politics.
Leggett has responded, saying she was offended by the accusations that she was not Malaysian enough: “I was … offended … because it spoils the good reputation of the pageant that is judged fairly, not by the color of a contestant’s skin.”
The 19-year-old beauty queen, who was born in Penang and is of Caucasian-Eurasian parentage, said she speaks Malay and understands the Hokkien and Cantonese dialects, both prominent in Malaysian society.
“Leggett can be a symbol for the tolerance and unique ethnic country that is Malaysia. To argue we have only one ethnicity is stupid and wrong. We are Chinese, Malay, Indian and white. Get over it world,” added Ousmanah.
Leggett, who studies at Taylor’s University in Malaysia, was quoted by The New Paper as saying, “I love durians. I am exactly like everyone else in the country.”
Miss Universe Malaysia 2012 finalist Sugeeta Chandran also defended Leggett, calling her “a true blue Malaysian.” “People say the best things in Malaysia can be found in Penang, and this is true of Kimberley,” she added. “She is a friendly local girl who often uses ‘lah’ in conversations, and even speaks in Bahasa Malaysia.”
National director Andrea Fonseka said the article was unfair to Malaysians and was uncalled for “We crown a girl because she deserves it, and to discriminate against fair-skinned girls because they don’t look Malaysian is detrimental.”
Ms Fonseka, who was crowned Miss Universe Malaysia in 2004 and is also of mixed parentage, said the article showed the writer’s ignorance about Malaysia’s multi-ethnic background. She added that the writer should have defined what a Malaysian look was.
“Malaysians are of all shapes, sizes and colours, and I think there is no one with a pure Malaysian look,” she said. “We are so culturally diverse that we cannot pin down a Malaysian look.”
BM
Perhaps Andrea should take a sociology class before regurgitating whatever festers in her mind. She has mentioned it, Malaysia’s racial fabric mainly consists of the Malays, Chinese, Indians and other smaller minority groups including the indigenous people of the country however they are rarely represented in the media. She is right, Malaysians come in all shapes and sizes and colours, but we only feature mostly white role models when they make up a very small minority in this country.
How can she cry that is unfair to have a mostly European winner when models, tv spokespersons, beauty queens in Malaysia tend to be partially white and are praised for it. This is internalised racism, we need to have more opportunities for the rest of other Malaysian women that are largely underrepresented in our country.
The IBT article was right to call this out and sadly the MUMO failed to address this issue.
Chloe Chen makes a point in another article regarding this, she thinks it is unfair that Malaysia was criticised when African nations have white contestants and Canada had a minority represent their nation. What she fails to see here is there is sadness and triumph in the two situations.
Africa still struggles with the leftover effects of colonialism and in this case and it shouldn’t be praised for being “forward” and choosing white contestants because like many parts of the world, adheres to european standard of beauty.
You would be ignorant to dismiss the white privilege that has afforded these winners in these parts of the world including ours.
In the case of a chinese beauty queen representing Canada on a world stage, this is a minority woman who is underrepresented in a white nation that has won against very slim odds. This is very different in Malaysia where the minority, white people, are vastly over-represented on tv, advertisements and various media outlets than the majority of the people in the nation.
How can Chloe or Andrea or any of these Malaysian beauty queens not understand this issue? Perhaps that is why they are beauty queens, intelligence did not play a large part in winning their titles.
We do not live in a vacuum. They compound and encourage the idealisation of the status quo. It is Malaysian women who are not white or partially white who are the victims here not Andrea, not Chloe and not Leggett.
as expected, an insecure pinoy like “sawasdee” (hiding behind other country’s name) would comment negatively to anything Malaysia here. what else is new?
Come on Malaysia! Enjoy and support this amazingly beautiful Miss Malaysia… could even be the 2nd time for Malaysia into the semafinalists. She`s not too white… She`s too gorgeous!
i consder malaysians white and asians
since when malaysian became dark or “too white” for bieng white hahahahaha this is stupid
Malaysia is a cultural diverse country! Miss Universe Malaysia 2012 is a representation of how culturally diverse the country is. You should watch how she gave her best when she was at the Beaut Camp and how stunning she was on the pageant. You don’t have any idea! Watch out for her this December 11, I’m sure all Malaysian women and mixed Asian women will be proud of her. I love u Miss Universe Malaysia 2012!
What is being too white?and dark skin too?who are we to set a standard say.Malaysia should send a brown/tanned color girls to represent the nation.Why picked on her?we have seen contestants like from the Philippines, the Carribean isles, sometimes the girls are of caucasian features.Why now?Why Miss Malaysia only being pointed out.She is afterall live,goes to Malaysian school,speak the national language fluently.So,that is not Malaysian enough?The person who wrote that article about Miss Malaysia deemed too white is either racist, ignorant or just say…shallow..
I don’t think it matters. Like last year’s Miss Universe this girl Leggett is not gonna win. This is Miss Universe. She looks more like a prom queen.
When will we live in a world where skin colour is beautiful in every right, every way and anywhere? It breaks my heart!
Kimberley Leggett is beutiful..she have a won miss universe 2012…she malay gurl….
people say are the most ignorant and stupid..
Kimberley Leggett is a beutiful..she is malay(peneng gurl)..she have a won miss universe 2012..agree andrea fonseka???
Well, i haven’t read the article but if this were true, then the writer shouldn’t even write. Too narrow-minded. I hope Miss Malaysia does well at Miss Universe.
This article is so ignorant. I am from South Africa and coloured. What makes me coloured is not my skin colour, but my heritage and genetic makeup. Will it be fair to select a dark skin, 100% black African Miss South Africa every year just to please the international media? If a black African wins every year, by right then I don’t have a problem for example. But to simply select a winner on the basis of what the international media may say is stupid. People should rather read up and do proper research on a countries cultural history.
I know malaysia is half india and half china
If you want to make a comment then be fair about it. Do’t drag un-necessary comments like Indians striving to be white. Indians are beautiful dark or light skinned. Nicole Faria, Priyanka, Vasukhi, Ushoshi etc are all dark skinned yet represnted India. If Malaysia was so accepting then why has no dark skinned girl represented Malaysia? Don’t insult India when you know nothing about it KL!!!! its the powerhouse of beauty known to the world!
Jas, Malaysia has sent many dark-skinned beauties to international pageants over the years…most recently is Thanuja Ananthan, Miss World Malaysia 2009…although she did not place in Miss World 2009, she remains one of the most beautiful Miss World Malaysia winners in recent years…besides, KL was not supporting the Indians-striving-to-be-white statement; interesting does not always carry a positive connotation…none of us commentators agree with that statement, either…Indian beauty is one of the most celebrated on Earth because of its diversity…
“We aren’t like India where we strive to be so white all the time. We are Malaysian and accept our people for who they are.”
Interesting and ironic statement, I would say.
“We aren’t like India where we strive to be so white all the time. We are Malaysian and accept our people for who they are.”
This line caught my attention as well. Making reference to India engenders a racist statement. Then towards the end of the article, it was said that “We are Chinese, Malay, Indian and white”, a bit of contradiction.
Nice attempt Malaysia though to catch our attention.
I must agree that the remark “We aren’t like India where we strive to be so white all the time” is not very wise, because if we look closely, dusky beauty has been celebrated in Indian culture for millenia, like in the epic Mahabharata, where the heroine Draupadi is also nicknamed Krishna, the Sanskrit word for “black”, because of her beautiful dark complexion. Also, there are many dark-skinned women who were noted for their exotic features for as long as national beauty pageants have existed in the country, like Vasuki Sunkavalli, Reshmi Ghosh, Mugdha Godse, Annie Thomas and Parvathy Omanakuttan…
Being Malaysian myself, I was a bit tongue-tied when my own fellow countrywoman made such a shallow sweeping statement. However, I must praise the second half of her comment, “We are Malaysian and accept our people for who they are”…it is evident through our beauty industry, where girls of various races, colours and creeds have been sent to represent our country in various international pageants…
Personally, I also have to agree with the other comments that took offence to the IBT labelling Kimberley Leggett as “too white”, because it just shows that not many people around the world are aware of the racial and cultural diversity that is abound in Malaysia…I am glad that GB brought this issue to light because it helps prove to people around the world that Malaysian beauties are not a homogenous lot, but rather a melting pot of races and cultures…in short, being Malaysian is not proven by how you look like on the outside, but more on the inside, which is in turn exuded through your philosophy as well as what you embrace…I believe this rule of thumb applies to many multi-racial countries across the globe…
Kimberley Leggett was the best girl for the crown that night, and she won the title and right to represent Malaysia at Miss Universe 2012 fair and square…I sincerely wish her all the very best…MALAYSIA BOLEH! =D
MALAYSIA BOLEH!