KUCHING: Since participating in the Queen of The World Malaysia pageant, runner up Sarawak-born Ezza Noni Hadjeli has been active in activism work, most notably women empowerment.
She is the brand ambassador for one of the most prestigious fashion brands called nottingheels.my .
Despite living in Melaka with her husband and her six children, she manages to come to Kuching every now and then to visit her hometown, or if there is any project she is working on in Kuching.
Also, most recently she was invited to a talkshow alongside her peers Kimi Thomas (Mrs Global Asean 2023) and Angela Wong (third place in Queen of the World Malaysia 2023) on TVS, where she spoke about inspiring other women to not give up in life, despite challenges and setbacks they may be facing.
Her story is nothing short of inspiring as well, as despite being a full time housewife, she also works on her own fashion brand and other business, while managing her husband’s business as well.
The New Sarawak Tribune and Suara Sarawak sat down for an interview with her on her experience with Mrs Queen of the World, future endeavours, and advice for women who want to follow her footsteps, be it in pageantry or business.
THANKFUL FOR THE EXPERIENCE
Ezza is truly thankful for the experience of being a participant in Mrs Queen of the World Malaysia.
“Initially, I participated in Queen of the World Sarawak where I finished among the top six, and I competed in Queen of the World Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur where I managed to be a runner up.
“Winners of the competition will be competing in New York, but due to being a Muslim, I was not able to do so.
“To be honest, I was truly okay with it because I knew in my heart I could not compete in New York. In Malaysia though, they allow those who are in hijab to compete in the competition,” she said.
She said once any woman participates in such competition, there must be some advocacy or projects for the contestant to work on.
“The title does not stop there, the women have to work on some charity project or activism.
“Like me right, I decided that I am going to do charity projects, and coincidentally I was in Kuching and I visited Rumah Pusat Jagaan Murni, so when I have some programmes in Kuching, I will visit the place along with my peers and female entrepreneurs, and we provide donations for the place.
“Other than that, I am actively being invited by various primary schools and even Pandu Puteri to give talks and encouragement on how to be confident of themselves and to be successful one day,” she said.
MANAGING HER TIME
Despite becoming a full time housewife, she also help manage finances in her husband’s business.
“I can do the work at home, and even in Kuching,” she said, adding, “ I am also grateful for my husband, because he supports me and he is the one who encouraged me to pursue this field.”
As knowing she can get busy with her charity work and other projects, her husband takes over her duty of managing the children while she is away.
CHALLENGES WHILE PARTICIPATING IN PAGEANTRY AND THE STATE OF PAGEANTRY IN SARAWAK
Ezza revealed that Queen of the World Malaysia was the first time she participated while wearing her hijab.
“The first challenge that I faced is none other than getting consent from my husband, whether he is okay or not about me joining the competition.
“Thankfully, he said I can as long as I maintain my image as a Muslim.
“There are a lot of ways for us who are wearing the hijab to become fashionable. And now people are more open towards women wearing the hijab,” she said.
“Even though I cover up, I am still able to be stylish and that made people uplift me as some sort of hijabi icon,” she added.
Ezza noted that the pageantry industry in Sarawak is developing more than ever.
“It is blooming like mushroom in the garden, not only in Sarawak but also the whole of Malaysia, we have so many pageants.”
CURRENT PROJECT
Ezza revealed that currently, she is working on reviving her previous fashion brand called “Ezza Noni”.
She stated that the fashion brand was previously launched by Dato Nori Ahmad and that time, Nori was the Ketua Puteri Umno.
“When I decided to participate in the pageant, reviving the fashion brand was one of my goals.
“It is still under development due to lack of time …Ezza Noni is a boutique line, and I have fashion designers but all of the outfits are based on my sense of taste.
“I provide the idea and my team will create and produce all of the outfits. Because of my fashion brand, I manage to joined a lot of fashion shows before, in Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, and I also had a beauty pageant before,” she said.
Ezza stated that Putri Glam established in 2016, was a beauty pageant created by her, where she goes from one district to another, looking for younger girls and groom the girls to be fashionable and communicative.
“Some of them do not know how to speak the Malay language fluently, so when I groom them, I teach them to be brave and confident, they have become successful women out there.
“So I am very grateful to see them get out of their comfort zone,” she added.
She also wishes to open a pageant class, however that might need to wait a while due to time constraints, as she is now staying in Melaka.
“The other project that I, alongside my team are working on is Queen of The World: Culture and Heritage, and it was suggested by Amy for us to organise there, in conjunction with the “Tahun Melawat Melaka” programme, and it is still under discussion and we have asked Tourism Melaka for support,” she explained.
She also wishes to continue her activism, especially in empowering women all across Sarawak.
“Like myself, I was a victim of a failed marriage, so I want to see other women who are also victims get assisted as well.
“Because some of them have no idea where they can get the help they need, while others are either shy or scared to get help, and then we have women who know where they can get help but they are not brave enough owing to lack of support.
“These issues make me want to show myself out there and help those women in need,” she said.
“I am thankful because I was blessed with skills such as being able to cook, earn some money as well and that is why I am where I am now.”
ADVICE TO ALL WOMEN
“To all the women out there, if you have problems, do not hesitate to ask for help because everyone has tons of problems, only difference bring how tough the problem is,” said Ezza.
She also noted that women should not be scared to voice out their concern, and meet any related parties for help.
“If you are scared to ask for your help from your family, then perhaps approach other people you are comfortable with, such as your best friend.
“You can also approach charity bodies and they will assist you with whatever you need,” she added.
Most importantly, Ezza stated that they should never give up, as there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
“Because we all have religion, and all religions tell us to ask God for a helping hand.
“But that is not the end of it. We should make some effort to get out of situations we are in. Never give up,” she added.
