THE MALAYSIAN-PHILIPPINES CONNECTION AT MISS UNIVERSE PHILIPPINES
By Tony Mariadass
Miss Universe
Philippines 2021 candidate, Kheshapornam Ramachandran, who emerged Miss Iloilo/Miss Universe Philippines contest recently, is half
Filipina-half Malaysian/Indian Ilongga (local Iiloilo people known as) origin.
Kheshapornam, 20, was
born in Malaysia – Hot Springs, Setapak – to former Kuala Lumpur football player
R. Ramachandran and his Filipina wife, Rachel Empedrad.
They were married in
1992 in Kuala Lumpur and have three children. Kheshapornam is the youngest, who
went to live with her grandmother in Iloilo when she was six.
She has two older brothers
– Rama 30 (who is a Police Officer in Iloilo) and Dinesh, 28 (who is in
Malaysia and played – leftback - for Selangor U-21 team from 2007 – 2010 before
an ACL injury derailed him).
Ramachandran, a
City Hall enforcement officer, sadly passed away in 2006 from complications
resulting after contacting chicken pox.
Ramachandran met
his wife, also known as Michelle, when the Kuala Lumpur Malay Mail FC team was
invited to play in the inaugural President’s Cup in Iloilo City in 1991.
Ramachandran squatting first from left with the KL Malay Mail FC team for the inaugural President's Cup in Iloilo, Philippines.
KLMM FC who had
emerged the Kuala Lumpur FA Dunhill League champions defeating a star-studded
City Hall FC, were rewarded by FA of Malaysia to play in the President’s Cup – thanks
to then FAM general secretary, the late Datuk Paul Mony Samuel.
KLMM FC had five
invitation players from the KL Semi-Pro team which included Ramachandran who
travelled to Iloilo and emerged runners-up to the Chinese Taipei national team
losing in penalty shootout after the game ended in a deadlock.
The other guest
players from the KL team included were Nazim Din, late Tommy Chong Kok Min,
Badrul Isham Jalil and Badrulsham Ahmad.
Ramachandran first from left with the Kuala Lumpur team
It was then KLMM FC
player, A. Gunasegeran who met Michelle at a shopping complex and invited her
to the final with her friends.
Later, she was
invited for dinner with some of the KLMM FC players by Guna and that was where she
met Ramachandran and their friendship blossomed to love and marriage.
“I first saw Rama
at the game, and he was so shinny. But I got to meet him at the dinner, and he
was a shy person. He asked for my phone number, and we kept in touch,” revealed
Michelle how she met her husband.
After
Philippines’ successful stint at Miss Universe 2020 with Rabiya Mateo, the
Miss Universe Philippines organisation is all set to appoint its new queen to
represent the country at the upcoming 70th Miss Universe to be held in Costa
Rica later this year.
Among the many names coming up for Philippine
Miss Universe, is Kheshapornam.
Among her feats include winning one of
the crowns for runners-up during Mutya Ng Pilipinas Gold. She was also declared
‘Best in Swimwear’ and ‘Best in Evening Gown.’
She also won the right to represent the
country in Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International in 2018. It was
supposed to happen during the last quarter of 2018 or early 2019. Sadly, the
organisers scrapped the staging of the international contest and Kheshapornam
was left with no choice but to accept the fate of having an aborted pageant
mission.
The athletic Keshapornam stands 175cm
tall and is an avid basketballer, model, beauty queen and student leader from
Iloilo National High School. She was supposed to have graduated from the Asian
College of Aeronautics this June, where she is studying aeronautics engineering,
but had to be postponed as her practical at the Manila International Airport
has been deferred because of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Keshapornam with her mother and brother Rama
Keshapornam in Malaysia during her visit recently
Aside from her physical prowess and
interest in sports, she possesses an inner radiance of a sweet and passionate
Ilongga, a great potential that allowed her to successfully achieve various
beauty titles in her young age. She aspires to become a successful beauty queen
and joining the national pageant is one step in achieving that dream.
Kheshapornam believes that physical
beauty fades, but a good character remain with us including our virtues and
positive perspective in life. A beautiful heart can touch lives and inspire
people around us.
In an interview in Philippines recently
she had said that the most important reasons for her to live a meaningful life
is, “to live a life of virtues and sincerity. For me, living a meaningful
life means being kind, generous and always willing to help other people in
simple ways.”
“I engage myself in sports because I am
a wellness advocate, I prioritize my studies since this is my pathway to a
better future, and I work hard to become a beauty queen because I want to use
this as a platform to inspire young people, to show them that great dreams are
meant to be fulfilled when we have the heart to do something about it,” she
added.
Her mother here in Malaysia, who is working
as a nurse at a private clinic is so proud of her daughter and hopes she realises
her dream.
“I sent her back to be brought up my
mother in Iloilo when she was six as she was a girl and difficult for me to
manage after my husband passed away so suddenly,” said Michelle when contacted.
“I am immensely proud of her
achievement so far both academically and her pageant pursue. She intends to join
the Philippines Air Force when she graduates. My older son, Rama, is a police
officer in Iloilo, while my second son is here with me in Malaysia.
“It has been tough bringing up the
children as a single parent and had to work hard to earn money for their education,”
said Michelle worked as a cashier in a local pub called Online for six
years before becoming a nurse.
“My brother-in-law, Subramaniam, had
been supportive until he retired recently, and I had to work doubly hard to
make end meet.”
Rama's brother Subramaniam former national player from Selangor standing fourth from right
Asked if she plans to go to the
International Miss Universe Philippines qualifying contest later this year when
it permits, she said: “No, I can’t stand the pressure and I don’t want to pressure
on my daughter too.
“The last time I watched her in a local
contest online and I was so tensed, that I decided I will never watch. I wish
her the best, my prayers for her always with her and to enjoy the moment,” said
Michelle who las saw her daughter before the Covid pandemic.
“I plan to visit Iloilo again when it
permits as I miss my two children and my family. I always return annually.”
Dinesh too said he was proud of his
sister and if possible, want to be in Manila to lend her moral support.
“I am looking forward to meeting my baby
sister soon as I miss her and my brother and also want to lend her support for
the contest,” said Dinesh.
Dinesh front first left with local team Hotspurs FC
Indeed, Kheshapornam’s family, the
people of Iloilo and the community of Hot Springs in Setapak, the KLMM FC team
members and even Malaysians will be rooting for her as she is of
Philippines-Malaysian blood.
All the absolute best Kheshapornam!
