Jittery Gloria wins the crown

BY THOMAS HUONG

KUALA LUMPUR: Her nervousness showed and she even stumbled on her lines when she introduced herself. 

But Gloria Ting Mei Ru overcame the jitters to beat 13 girls to the Miss Malaysia/World 2004 crown at the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel yesterday. 

“I was very surprised to win as I felt very scared the whole night,” said the 22-year-old freelance model from Sarawak. 

During the question-and-answer session, when asked “what is the Malaysian value you think is most important”, Gloria was stumped for words. 

It took her a minute and encouragement from the floor to reply: “The most important value is that of tolerance of other cultures and religions.” 

GLOWING GLORIA: A beaming Gloria Ting Mei Ru wearing the Miss Malaysia/World 2004 crown, flanked by first runner-up Pang Su Yen (left) and second runner-up Parveen Kaur at the Grand Ballroom of Renaissance Hotel Saturday night. Gloria also won the Miss Crowning Glory in the pageant. She will represent Malaysia at the Miss World pageant in Sanya, China on Dec 4. - STARpic by Brian Moh

It seemed a good enough answer for the judges. 

“I will work on getting my confidence in speaking in public,” Gloria, who also won the Miss Crowning Glory title, said in an interview later. 

She will represent Malaysia at the Miss World pageant in Sanya, China on Dec 4. 

The first runner-up was Pang Su Yen, 21, from Kuala Lumpur, second was Parveen Kaur, 21, from Selangor and third Sabahan Sophie Lim Meow Yin, 19.