KUALA LUMPUR - Newly crowned Miss Malaysia Chinatown International 2012 Joanne Soo has a big heart.
The 25-year-old Penangite wants to use her fame to help the less fortunate.
"Now that I have won this title, I want to continue helping people through charity. I have been involved in charity since secondary school and have preferred charity work in pageants," said Soo, who works as an assistant manager in Penang.
She said her most memorable experience was when she went to China as part of another pageant and helped orphans of an earthquake a few years ago.
"It was a great experience, we stayed in a camp, and conditions were really bad. We read with orphans whose parents died in the earthquake and helped them study.
"It made me grateful that we live in Malaysia," she added.
Soo, the oldest among the 16 finalists, also said that she would give half of her RM5,000 (S$2,047) winnings to charity while the other half would go to her family.
She added that her motivation in life was to make a lot of money because "you can't help people with words alone".
Soo will be in the running for the title of Miss Chinatown International 2012 which will be held in Malaysia in December.
Second runner-up Kao Yu Ling, 22, said she would be taking part in more pageants in the future.
"I am a bit of a tomboy and I do not feel as feminine as the rest. I want to learn to be more lady-like, how to take care of my looks and how to be elegant," said Kao, who has put her studies on hold for a year to concentrate on her modelling career.
