Rahima Orchient Yayah (born 1974) is a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

businesswoman, former model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned as Miss Malaysia World 1994. She represented

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Miss World 1994 Miss World 1994, the 44th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 19 November 1994 and marked the third consecutive staging of Miss World in Sun City, South Africa. 87 contestants from around the world competed for the title. Lisa Han ...

pageant in Sun City,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

where she placed in the top 10 semi-finalists.

Personal life

Born in 1974, in Tawau, Sabah. She was married to a

Malaysian Chinese Malaysian Chinese (; Malay: ''Orang Cina Malaysia''), alternatively Chinese Malaysians, are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese descent. They form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority constituting 22.4% of the Malaysian po ...

businessman where she had 2 sons. She received a diploma in business administration from

Inti College INTI International University & Colleges are private university colleges located in Malaysia. The main campus was initially known as INTI University College until 31 May 2010 when the Higher Education Ministry announced its upgrade to universi ...

in 1993 and Pitman Training certificate for secretarial work from Kinabalu Commercial College, Sabah in 1989.

Career

While representing Malaysia to Miss World 1994, she managed to reach the top 10 semi-finalist. She was then defeated by

Aishwarya Rai Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebritie ...

, a model and an actress hailed from India. She was the third Malaysian representative to qualify into the semi-finalist since the country debut in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. The last time Malaysia made into the semi-final was in

Miss World 1979 Miss World 1979, the 29th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 15 November 1979 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. The winner was Gina Swainson from Bermuda. She was crowned by Miss World 1978, Silvana Suarez of Argentina. Fi ...

through Shirley Chew. Her participation in the competition marked in the history of major beauty pageant in Malaysia as the last Muslim woman to ever compete in Miss World pageant after the 1996

fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...

banning Muslim women from competing in any national pageant that sends the winner to an international pageant. She holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from Preston University. She started and helmed her own fashion design company at the age of 28. She envisioned to make her company to be one of the top firm in the fashion designing and patterning industry. She have made two boutique branches which is in

Tawau Tawau (, Jawi: , ), formerly known as Tawao, is the capital of the Tawau District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the third-largest city in Sabah, after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan. It is located on the Semporna Peninsula in the southeast coast of t ...

and Wisma Muis HQ ground floor and Karamunsing Complex at

Kota Kinabalu , image_skyline = , image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Miss World 1994 delegates 1974 births Living people Miss World 1994 delegates People from Sabah Malaysian female models Malaysian beauty pageant winners