“I told my guide, ‘Today we are going to die. Before that, I want to make a phone call.’ But there was no reception,” she recalled.
Hours later, after stumbling on what looked like the right path, strangers appeared in the dark and pushed four boiled eggs into her hands. “I was so hungry. Those eggs saved me.”
It’s not the kind of story you expect from a beauty queen. But Harveen, who was crowned Mrs Malaysia World in 2017, has never believed that life should stay neatly within the lines of glamour.
“Beyond the red carpet, there are struggles. When you climb a mountain, it’s not easy. It’s the same with being a queen. You’re carrying Malaysia’s name, you’re carrying the flag. It’s not all about you,” the 46-year-old told FMT Lifestyle.
Last month, the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) recognised her as the “First Beauty Queen to Complete Back-to-Back Everest Base Camp and Island Peak”.
This was her second MBR certification, following her first achievement in 2023 for being the “First Beauty Queen to Summit Mount Kilimanjaro”.
“It made me realise that I’m strong. I’m not better than anyone else, but I’m different and I work very hard for all this. It’s not easy to conquer a mountain,” said Harveen, who has also climbed Mera Peak and Mount Kinabalu.
“It takes a lot of family support,” the mother of three added, sharing that it was her identical twin sons who had nudged her towards the mountains.
“They said, ‘Let’s do Mount Kinabalu. You are so fit.’ And I thought, ‘OK, it’s just Kinabalu, not Everest.’ But it was not easy at all.”
So, while she was busy being the national director of Mrs Malaysia World, Harveen also began her training.
Her boys have since joined her on climbs – and even scared her half to death. On Kilimanjaro in Africa, one of them collapsed with high-altitude cerebral oedema.
“He fainted. I had to decide: continue or bring him down. I injected him with steroids myself. He was airlifted out but recovered quickly. That’s when you realise – climbing is not just about summiting. You must come back safely. Your family is waiting.”
Truly, family has always been central to Harveen. Growing up in Ipoh, she was raised by two formidable women: her mother, who returned to nursing after her father’s sudden passing, and her grandmother.
Perhaps that spirit explains her resilience. When frostbite left one finger blackened, requiring her to have four surgeries, she admitted it nearly broke her.
Still, she went back to the mountains, despite having undergone procedures and physiotherapy for over four years. Her ultimate conquest? The summit of Everest, of course.
“I want to challenge myself,” she said. “I don’t want to be bedridden or depending on my kids when I’m 60 or 70. I want to be very strong.”
This drive spills into pageantry, too. As the national director of Mrs Malaysia World, she pushes contestants to showcase Malaysia’s creativity on the global stage.
“Every year, we try to create something different with our costume. That’s the pride we carry. Even if you don’t win, standing there as a Malaysian queen is already a victory,” she added.
Indeed, Malaysian pride was instilled in her from a young age by her late grandmother, who used to quietly give out small loans to hawkers of all races.
“Even today, (her beneficiaries) would come to me and say how much she helped them. That’s what Malaysia is – different people, but we help one another.”
For her, Malaysia is not abstract: it’s home. “I’ve been offered citizenship in Australia many times, but I declined. Malaysia is where I was born. My heart, my life, my family – everything is here. This is where I belong.”
Follow Harveen Kaur on Instagram.