Taanusiya Chetty turns personal loss into message of change

At Miss World 2026 in Vietnam, Taanusiya Chetty, a 26-year-old Malaysian representative, delivered a four-language speech about making a difference. She spoke about becoming an agent of change rather than waiting for change to happen. “I want to leave a message by saying that it’s not about how much we can change the world, but how much you can be the change,” she said. “Jangan tunggu dunia berubah, jadilah perubahan,” she added. Behind this message is her personal loss: she lost her mother in a road accident at age 14. Over time, support from her stepmother helped her develop compassion, resilience, and a commitment to education and community work. In 2022, she founded Be The Change Malaysia (Pertubuhan Suara Perubahan Insan Murni), focusing on projects for children and young people, including a school-in-hospital programme for Orang Asli children, art workshops for autistic youth, and visits to paediatric leukaemia patients. These efforts have reached around 8,000 children and raised RM60,000 through community outreach. She aims to expand Be The Change internationally, collaborating with the Miss World Organisation by 2028 to amplify her emotional intelligence initiatives. Malaysia’s best Miss World result remains a third-place finish by Lina Teoh in 1998.