Sarawakian pride: Dewi Liana Seriestha
Malaysian singer, model and winner of the Miss World Talent category in the 2014 Miss World pageant Dewi Liana Seriestha is a pride of the State of Sarawak. The beautiful and immensely talented Dewi is of Indonesian-Malaysian Bidayuh descent, born to father Yudhi Seriestha, himself a musician and singer, and mother Catherine Noep Sigit.
Multi-talented
Dewi’s foray into the entertainment world began at a very young age. By year 2000, a teenager Dewi was already named champion of Bintang Kecil RTM.
In 2005, she went to pursue her career in Kuala Lumpur, along with her parents. She made her TV debut that year, joining reality singing show Mentor as a contestant at just 16. She went on to act for local Malay television between 2009 and 2010, making appearances in shows like Patung Cinta and Nilai Cinta Diana.
Perhaps the most notable successes of the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA) graduate were when she won gold, silver and a special accolade at the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in 2014, and of course her Miss World Malaysia win that same year, followed by her representing Malaysia at Miss World 2014 in London, where she won the Miss World Talent title.
She didn’t stop there. Dewi was awarded Asia Outstanding Achievement Award during the Asia Golden Dragon Awards 2015/2016 for her achievements during the WCOPA and Miss World 2014.
No slowing down
Besides TV, her numerous accolades and her live concerts, Dewi also released several singles. The first was “Hari Telah Dimiliki”, which was a theme song for TV3 drama ‘Waris Kasih’, released on Sept 4, 2015. Two years later, her second single ‘Seindah Berdua’ was released under Warner Music Malaysia. The single went on to enter the semifinals of TV3’s Anugerah Juara Lagu in 2018. And in 2019, she released her first English single ‘I Love You’, which she co-wrote with Mark Woods.
An icon for the Dayak community
Today, Dewi is highly regarded as an icon of success by the Dayak community, particularly among the Bidayuh. She spoke at the International Dayak Culture Day in Bengkayang Regency, Indonesia in 2017, and was crowned The Most Beautiful Dayak Woman that same year.
For all her successes, she was crowned the Special Bidayuh Artistes and Musicians Association (BAMA) Award IN 2018 at the Ngarum Lagu Bidayuh (NLB) award ceremony, witnessed by many of Bidayuh’s music industry’s top artistes, songwriters and producers.
Dewi Liana Seriestha truly is an icon… a pride of Sarawak and the Dayak community of Sarawak.
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