Congratulations: Erynn (left) and Evangeline clinched the top prize in their respective categories in the QCEC 2024. - Credit: Royal Commonwealth Society
PETALING JAYA: Two Malaysian teenagers have won a trip to London, United Kingdom, where they will be hosted by Queen Camilla in Buckingham Palace.
This is their reward for coming out on top in the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools.
Liew Erynn, 13, from Puchong, Selangor, was named the Junior Winner while Evangeline Khoo Ke Ying, 15, from Kuala Lumpur, took the Senior Winner title in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) 2024, organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society in the UK.
While several awards were given for both the Junior (under 14) and Senior (ages 14 to 18) categories, only one winner and one runner-up were named in each category.
Joining the two Malaysians in the UK for Winners’ Week, from Nov 18 to 21, will be Victor Kiyaga, 13, from Uganda and Christabelle Yeo, 16, from Singapore, who were named the Junior Runner-up and Senior Runner-up, respectively.
The four students will take part in educational and cultural activities before attending a special awards ceremony hosted by Queen Camilla at the palace.
Their entries stood out among a record-breaking 34,939 submissions from all Commonwealth regions.
This year’s theme, “Our Common Wealth”, challenged participants to consider how they deal with adversity and how community and culture can be used to encourage resilience and hope in a world with a growing number of global issues.
In her short story titled The Indian Ocean Queen's Troubles, Erynn featured talking sea creatures who lamented their plight, including overfishing, climate change and plastic pollution.
She also created illustrations to accompany her story.
On her win, the Tzu Chi International School Kuala Lumpur student, who has been writing since the age of four and aspires to become an author, told The Star that she was “lost for words” upon receiving the news.
“I feel like bursting with joy since this has been a dream of mine, and it has finally come true,” she said of her fourth-year participating in the QCEC.
Erynn won the Gold Finalist Award in 2021 and Gold Awards in both 2022 and 2023.
“I feel extremely excited for Winners’ Week, as London is the number one place I have been longing to visit!
“In fact, I am eagerly looking forward to attending the awards ceremony in Buckingham Palace the most, as it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she added.
Evangeline, who is a student at SMK Menjalara, told the story of plastic from its first-person point of view in her short story titled Ungrowing Growth.
An enthusiastic fan of literature, she has a love for fantasy and imagination and has participated in various competitions, including storytelling and choral speaking in both Bahasa Malaysia and English.
Open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and below, the annual QCEC invites participants to write on a theme inspired by the Commonwealth’s values and principles, while also working towards developing key literacy skills and fostering an empathetic and open-minded world view.
Among the Malaysian participants this year are twin brothers Anas Rayyan Muhammad Shaifuddin and Amir Rayyan Muhammad Shaifuddin.
The Form Two students at The Malay College Kuala Kangsar were Gold Award recipients.
“Winning this award motivates us to keep exploring new ways of expressing ourselves through writing,” they said.
Last year, 15-year-old Kong Yong Sin from SMK Tinggi Kluang, Johor, was named the Senior Runner-up, earning her the opportunity to be honoured by Queen Camilla.
Past winners include Malaysia-born Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mei Fong, Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, and the late British author Elspeth Huxley.
