New Sarawak Tribune recently spoke with Vivienna Alfred about what inspired her to join the pageant and the entertainment industries, her winning two pageants within 24 hours, her relationship with her brother Vincent Mallang Alfred, her new podcast, and what she had learned so far.
Making a name for herself
Former beauty queen Vivienna Alfred, 26, had no idea her life would change so drastically when she decided to enter the pageant industry at the age of 15.
She has participated in many pageant competitions and won several of them, including Miss Keligit Lunau Kayan in 2015, as well as finishing as the second runner up in Miss Supranational Malaysia 2023 and first runner up in Miss Grand Malaysia 2022. She has not slowed down since and has continued to establish a name for herself.
At the age of 18, she made her first public appearance for the Borneo Post’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri season greetings.
She has been in movies, commercials, hosted various television shows, walked the runway for several fashion designers, and is even active in a non-governmental organisation called Paint the World, which helps refugees and underprivileged children.
She now has a podcast called “Sit, Santai & Share” in which she invites people from all backgrounds to share their unique life stories.
Her motivation
Vivienna credited her brother’s friend, Maymay Fung, for encouraging her to enter the modelling industry.
She then revealed that she was encouraged to compete in pageants by her accomplices, Gebriel Padan and Akim YM from Beauty Pageant.
“They were the ones who pushed me to participate in pageants. From then on, after I finish secondary school, I wanted to try pageantry,” she said.
She then recalled her first pageant, Miss Cultural Festival in 2016, and how disappointed she was when she learned she was not the winner.
“I wasn’t sure why I wanted to compete in the pageant at first. I might not have known my purpose at that time because I was young (18 years old). Finally, I realised my purpose: to represent my people and my community,” she said.
What about Miss Universe Malaysia?
Vivienna has competed in almost every pageant, with the exception of Miss Universe Malaysia.
She explained that the reason why she did not participate in Miss Universe Malaysia is because she had stopped competing in pageants for over five years before making a comeback with Miss Grand Malaysia 2022, where she finished as the first runner up.
“When it comes to major pageants, like Miss Universe Malaysia, if I want to enter merely to serve more people, it is a little unfair because I have been doing this for a long time, with or without participating in a competition, and even before I made a comeback,” she said.
She said the other reason was that it would be a waste of time if she did not win the competition.
“I’d rather spend my time doing my own work and continuing to serve the people, but we’ll see, maybe I’ll participate in the competition in the future, so only time will tell. After all, being a Miss Universe Malaysia winner would be a great opportunity for a beauty queen like me as it would allow me to expose the people to some of the projects that I am working on,” she said.
She was also aware of what was going on with Miss Universe Malaysia and its organisation.
“Given all the transition that has occurred inside the organisation over the past few years, perhaps I should wait until they have had time to re-establish themselves before deciding whether or not to participate,” she said.
On Miss World Malaysia, she felt she was not a “Miss World” material, owing to her image being a little too sexy and provocative for the competition.
“Because Miss World has a more princess-like image, I do not want to be a part of the competition if I am not aligned with the purpose,” she said.
Two competitions in 24 hours
Vivienna recalls winning two titles in 24 hours — Kumang Gawai Park City Mall 2016 and Kumang Gawai Bintulu District 2016.
She revealed that she had no strategies or game plans in mind at the time.
“I was about to give up on pageantry since I didn’t win any of them … kind of merajuk (sulking) to be honest. I told my parents that maybe this isn’t for me, but I’ll be forever thankful to Mimi Helmi, who contacted me and asked if I wanted to wear the Ngepan Iban, and she believed in me because she had seen me compete before,” she said.
Vivienna competed in Kumang Gawai in the morning, and she felt she had to give it her all since people still believed in her.
“I must try my best and show that there is still something I can offer to these people; else, they will lose faith in me. When they announced me as the winner, I felt relieved because I had finally won a pageant competition,” she said.
She then said that her best friend informed her that there is another competition (Kumang Gawai Bintulu District 2016) in the evening with 60 participants.
“Because I was already in the Ngepan Iban costume, I figured why not, and I wore it for more than 24 hours. I told myself that if I didn’t win, it was okay because I had already won the morning competition,” she said.
When the announcer declared her as the winner, Vivienna was taken aback.
“My grandmother was there and she was proud. What I did was simply believe and have faith in myself that it will all be worth it in the end,” she said.
A teen model and her dream brands
For Vivienna, becoming a model is not just a dream, but also a job that is convenient for her.
She said that when she turned 18, she stopped asking her parents for money and began modelling to support herself.
“To be honest, the work isn’t too difficult, despite the long hours, rehearsals, and others. However, I believe that at the time, this job is not only convenient for me, but also one in which I can support myself and my family,” she said.
When it comes to her dream brands, she mentioned a few designers she’d like to collaborate with, including Jimmy Choo and Super Sunday, a streetwear brand.
“My friend owns the brand (Super Sunday), and it’s my dream to model for them because I’ve only been invited as a guest whenever there was a fashion event. Jimmy Choo, of course, not because of the brand, but because of the people behind the brand, who are such lovely individuals. It would be a dream to work with them because it is an international brand founded by a Malaysian. Also, I would love to work with Tom Ford,” she said.
Sit, Santai & Share
Vivienna has expressed her desire to start a podcast since 2019.
“When I became a television presenter, I travelled three to four times a year because one project would take me at least 45 days if it was national, and two months if it was international.
“My partner advised me to find other projects to work on because I had a lot of free time. I know I can’t dance, sing, or do all of this trend, and I want to do things that demand the least amount of effort while generating the highest quality. Then I thought to myself, maybe I should start doing the podcast I’ve been wanting to do for four years,” she said.
She believes in creating quality content for her audience and sharing positive messages from their side.
According to her, “Sit, Santai & Share” is a podcast in which she invites people from all walks of life.
“Whether it’s from the entertainment industry to the commoners, I’ve always believed that even janitors and cleaners had stories to tell for days. And those are the stories from which we can learn, and if you look at my guests, they are simply ordinary people, not public figures, so that is the focus of my podcast,” she said.
She added that she wants to keep it real, as she wants her listeners to be able to relate to her guests and their stories.
“We want the listeners to be able to relate to the stories they hear, the journey, and how they can achieve anything they want in life,” she said.
Her backbone and lessons she has learned
Vivienna revealed that her brother, model and actor Vincent Mallang Alfred, has always been her biggest supporter from the beginning of her career.
“Whenever I entered a pageant, he was the one who stood by my side and was always there for me. He was the one who persuaded me to take part in the Borneo Post Hari Raya ad campaign,” she said.
She added that the difference between her and her brother is that her focus is on television hosting, whereas his focus is on acting.
“I’ve seen him doing a lot of acting for TVS recently, and I’m very happy for him. One piece of advice he told me was that knowing your passion is good, but knowing your purpose is even greater, and he often reminds me to stay humble,” she added.
She would also like to collaborate with him on future projects and has been waiting for him to appear on her podcast.
Vivienna went on to say that politics are frequently involved in the pageant industry.
“Let’s face it: there is favouritism going on, and it’s not the contestants’ fault. I was compared to the other contestants as well, and if you’re not favoured by the judges, you might not win. So, you must work extra hard to earn the respect of not just the contestants but also the judges,” she said.
Vivienna said that anyone interested in participating in pageants should always give their best.
“And it’s okay if you don’t win since you gave it your all in anything that interests you, not just pageants. Whenever you feel like giving up, bend as you may but never break,” she said.
