Celine Phong Sze Ling, after a 12-year hiatus from pageantry, represented Malaysia and was crowned the winner in the Tourism category at the Mrs Asia International 2023 event in Thailand earlier this month. She emerged victorious among 23 other participants in the same category.
Following her Miss International Malaysia win in 2011, Phong took a break, got married, and now has two daughters aged four and six. She prepared for the Mrs Asia International competition over a few months and learned a traditional Chinese dance from YouTube, which she performed during the event.
Mrs Asia International is unique in that it caters to married women and single mothers, with categories for those below 45 and for those above 45. Phong was encouraged by her family to join the competition and received strong support from her husband, who understood her dream, and her two daughters who were excited to see their mother on stage.
Phong, who works as a traditional Chinese medicine therapist, sees her victory as an opportunity to inspire others to pursue their ambitions. She believes that the competition is about empowering women and that all women should be independent, strong, and confident in pursuing their dreams.
In addition to Phong’s victory, another Malaysian representative, Chris Koh, was awarded the first runner-up for the Mrs Asia International Classic category. The event also had participants from Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore.
