KUALA LUMPUR: A Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) student was awarded a Nissan Navara 2.5L V(AT) through her participation in Anugerah Ikon Sukan (AIS), a contest organised by Harian Metro.
The contest, in an effort of popularising and appreciating national athletes, honoured 21-year-old Maisara Subhatina Md Fauzi, with the 'Pengundi Paling Kreatif' (Most Creative Voter) award.
The UiTM culinary arts student from Rawang, stated it was unexpected, considering it was her third or fourth attempt participating in contests linked to Berita Harian (BH) or the New Straits Times (NST).
Previously, she had only received consolation prizes, making this her first time winning the grand prize award.
"Well, my dad and I are always alerted if there are contests related to BH or NST. One day, we learned that BH was organising an Icon Sukai contest.
"So, we came up with the idea— why not create a pop-up of these sports icons? Not everyone realises their importance or even knows who these icons are.
"We bought many copies of newspapers and cut out the faces (of icons) from each one. We arranged them in a field to look like a castle, which took about a month and cost around RM1500," said Maisara in an interview with NST.
Maisara mentioned that the expenses covered the purchase of newspapers, decorations, and equipment.
She emphasised that the glass was the priciest component, nearly reaching RM1,000 for that particular type, contributing significantly to the overall expense.
She also mentioned that the castle was assembled at her home, with some assistance from relatives who aided with necessary cuts to streamline the process. Maisara also attributed the concept of the castle to her father and uncle.
"They are great at decorations, very creative. I asked them a lot about ideas because they are more creative than me.
"I helped with arranging everything, taking their ideas and refining them to make it more appealing," she added.
Maisara humbly acknowledged that there were contestants more talented than her. However, she attributed her win to luck and expressed eternal gratitude for the opportunity.