PETALING JAYA, Jan 17 — Winner of the Dewi Remaja beauty contest Haneesya Hani has been stripped of her title this afternoon in an unprecedented move by the pageant in its 10-year history.
This withdrawal announcement was made by organisers NU Ideaktiv Sdn Bhd this afternoon, according to Remaja’s website.
According to the magazine’s editor Faiz Aimman, Haneesya’s title was revoked following an investigation that was carried out in which it found the winner had breached terms of the contest after she and two other finalists were caught on video partying in a nightclub.
“As the owner and organiser, we are saddened over what has happened.
“At the same time, the participants of Dewi Remaja are aware of the terms of participation as stated in the contract they signed, which states they are prohibited from behaving inappropriately in public,” he said during a press conference.
According to Faiz, the withdrawal of the title would mean Haneesya and the two other finalists — Faizni Fazreen Fazeera Faizul and Erni Nurshahira Khairul Nizam — are not allowed to use the title of ‘Dewi Remaja finalists’ in any of their future showbiz-related endeavours.
Following the move, Dewi Remaja will not have a winner this year while second place winner Tia Sarah will represent Dewi Remaja for its activities along with other winners such as Aween Ismail and Arena Iman.
The press conference also saw 19-year-old Haneesya addressing the media in a tearful statement.
The Penangite said she would learn from her mistakes and does not blame anyone for the incident.
