Francisca donned her ‘Kampungku’ costume during the 69th Miss Universe National Costume slot at Florida, the United States – photo from @inquiredotnet (Twitter)
https://twitter.com/inquirerdotnet/status/1393123154977976323
KUCHING (May 17): Kuching lass Francisca Luhong James who represented Malaysia in this year’s Miss Universe competition in Florida, United States, failed to enter the Top 21 of the pageant today.
Francisca did not join in the semi-final with the likes of neighbouring countries’ stunning semi-finalists Ayu Maulida Putri from Indonesia, Thailand’s Amanda Obdam and Rabiya Mateo from the Philippines.
Broadcasted live from Florida, United States, hosts Mario Lopez and Olivia Culpo announced the Top 21 semi-finalists; who were from (in order of announcement) Colombia, Peru, Australia, France, Myanmar, Jamaica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, United States, Indonesia, Argentina, India, Curacao, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Brazil, Great Britain, Nicaragua, Thailand, Costa Rica and Vietnam – besting 53 other contestants.
Jamaica, Dominican Republic, India, Peru, Australia, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Brazil made it through to Top 10, of which the list further trimmed down to five in the next round.
The Miss Universe Malaysia 2020 winner made it through the preliminary rounds – most notably with the ‘Kampungku’ (My Village) costume for the National Costume slot last Friday.
Designed by renowned homegrown designer Carven Ong, her costume lugged an impressive 3D replica of a kampung house and it is a celebration of traditional Malaysian architecture.
Born on Oct 14, 1996, Francisca was raised within the Orang Ulu community in Belaga.
Her father, James Bungan is of Orang Ulu descent from Ulu Sungai Asap, while her mother Pauline Japok is an Iban from Kanowit.
Francisca currently works in the public relations and marketing field in Kuala Lumpur. She was also featured in an interview with The Borneo Post Online on Sept 2 last year.