Miss World Malaysia Taanusiya Chetty has caught the attention of many Malaysians after a video of her delivering a speech in four different languages went viral.
The 26-year-old represented Malaysia at the 73rd Miss World pageant in Vietnam, where she wowed the crowd by delivering her closing speech in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.
Miss World Malaysia shares empowering speech that inspired her charity work
Taanusiya also opened up about what inspired her to get involved in social work, including the heartbreaking loss of her mother when she was just 14. Her mother died in a road accident while on her way to attend a family member’s funeral.
She said the loss was devastating, but the unwavering support from her stepmother eventually inspired her to turn the experience into something meaningful by helping others.
This led Taanusiya to pursue work in education and charity, eventually founding Be The Change Malaysia in 2022 before officially registering the organisation as Pertubuhan Suara Perubahan Insan Murni.
“One of the things I had in mind before joining the competition was to expand our emotional intelligence initiatives to Cambodia and Vietnam. Since the platform was launched, it has benefited 8,000 children and raised RM60,000 through community service programmes.”
“Don’t wait for the world to change, be the change”
Through her organisation, Taanusiya has worked with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education (MOE) on hospital-based schooling initiatives for Orang Asli children. She has also organised art workshops for autistic youths and visited children with leukaemia.
For Taanusiya, the work is about more than just herself and her title. She hopes the initiative can continue to reach more people and make a difference in their lives.
“One thing I want to remind everyone is that it’s not about how much we can change the world, but how much we are willing to be that change. Don’t wait for the world to change, be the change… that is the spirit a Miss World should have,” she said.
Looking ahead, she hopes to take her work beyond Malaysia by partnering with the Miss World Organisation.
“By 2028, I hope to work with the Miss World Organisation to expand Be The Change Malaysia internationally, as I believe we can align our efforts to achieve our shared goals.”
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