Malaysian beauty pageant contestant under fire for 'unpatriotic' and xenophobic social media posts

A Malaysian beauty pageant contestant has come under fire for her "racist" and "unpatriotic" comments.

Abby Lee, a contestant in the recently concluded Miss International Malaysia (MIM) 2022 pageant, allegedly made the incendiary remarks on her social media accounts.

The comments were captured and subsequently re-shared on the social media pages of another netizen known as Hui Yue on March 12. From the descriptions in Hui Yue's Facebook posts as well as on Instagram, she and Lee appear to be related.

One of the screenshots which Hui Yue posted showed Lee complaining about "unusable" photos taken by a photographer. She lamented: "Why must I be born in the Malaysian countryside and not a city in China. I love China, I love Japan."

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In another Instagram Story, Lee stated: "People who know me know that I have never cared about this place and I never want to admit that I'm Malaysian. Migrating has always been my dream."

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Lee admitted that she only participated in the beauty contest out of personal interest, and not because she loved her country.

In another screenshot, she made comparisons between herself and the previous MIM winner, indicating that the latter had gotten plastic surgery.

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In retort against those who messaged her privately with lewd requests, Lee also made xenophobic remarks about Central and Southern Asians.

The posts have sparked controversy online with netizens flaming Lee for her comments. Wrote one: "What kind of Miss Malaysia is this?"

Several called for her disqualification from the pageant, as well as for her citizenship to be revoked.

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Lee's photos have since been pulled from the Miss International Malaysia Instagram page.

Following this, Lee wrote on her Instagram Story on Wednesday to clarify that some of the accusations made against her were false, New Straits Times reported.

She said that organisers of the pageant had given her "a warning" after the scandal erupted, and she apologised for "causing trouble for MIM".

She wrote: "I sincerely accept criticism, my sincere apology to everyone involved in this issue."

candicecai@asiaone.com