KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 — Asia’s Next Top Model (AsNTM) Cycle 5 has finally unveiled the fourteen young models from all over Asia who will be competing against each other for the coveted title!

This time around, two Malay models from Malaysia will be representing their country in the famous reality show based on the American franchise, America’s Next Top Model.

Following the footsteps of their senior, Tuti, the first Malay and Muslim to join the competition, 22-year-old Alicia Amin and 24-year-old Shikin Gomez will be going against twelve other contestants from the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

“This season promises to push the envelope with the roster of competitive talent we’ve found in Asia’s modelling industry. Not only will there be glamorous and challenging shoots to test the models’ abilities, but some fantastic transformations will take place as they grow into becoming professionals ready to take on the fashion world. Viewers will want to stay tuned each episode to catch every compelling detail,” Sam Gollestani, Executive Producer of Entertainment, Content and Communications at FNG said in a press release.

Last year, Malaysian model Tuti had at first received backlash from netizens for joining the competition despite being a Muslim.

The model however kept on pursuing her ambition and ended up in sixth place on Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 4, while the winner of the competition is her best friend from the show, Tawan from Thailand.

Alicia Amin is an experienced model of Malay-German ethnicity currently based in Victoria, Australia who started modelling in her early teens, while Shikin Gomez is a model from Teluk Intan, Perak, who previously won the “Malaysia Supermodel Search 2015”.

­Featuring Cindy Bishop as the host, AsNTM Cycle 5 will also see the return of fashion photographer and creative director Yu Tsai, joined by model mentor Cara Grogan and special guest Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach.

The fifth season of Asia’s Next Top Model will air on StarWorld, Astro CH 711 and 722 HD on 5 April 2017. — TheHive.Asia