Right, at long last, after such a long absence from blogging, I shall weigh in on this issue on Ris Low that has set Internet forums alight with chatter and gossip.
The Ris Low incident began with Internet viral videos showing an interview of her during her pageant run as Miss World Singapore. While showing no judge of her character, it revealed that her ability to converse in English, and her diction, was at that point of time, unacceptable. For weeks, newspaper and Internet forums and Facebook status (there is no plural for status; it is an uncountable noun, so says my Collins Cobuild dictionary which I bothered digging up for, and I will beat you to death if you argue with me) were ablaze with varying opinions on whether she should represent Singapore.
The title of Miss World Singapore entails certain expectations and responsibilities, and while the process of winning the title could be said to be difficult, the process of living up to the responsibilities of the title is definitely an arduous one. Even though society terms it as a "Beauty Contest/Pageant", the very idea of choosing a representative of a nation, and thereafter the World, based on superficial beauty alone is a fallacy. In today's modern world, beauty can be constructed - literally. All one needs to do is either to pay copious amounts of money for make-up or in extreme cases, plastic surgery. Moreover, beauty is a highly subject trait, with different cultures and individual perceptions coming into play. In many cultures during ancient antiquity, larger individuals were deemed to be beauty due to the perception of prosperity and wealth. Compare this to the modern world, whereby people still cannot agree on what beauty truly is; to be stick thin, or to have some weight on our bodies.
In a bid to alleviate this apparent flaw in pageants, organisers rush to hire a myriad of judges from different backgrounds and nationalities, include cognitive and personality tests and even get the common man on the street to vote for their beauty queen. All these put Pageant Queen hopefuls through the grind, demanding high levels of performance in both brawn and brain while simultaneously winning the support of her countrymen. Therefore, the first and foremost criteria of being a beauty queen would be to adhere to industry standards. that is to appear aesthetically pleasing, while also being confident and sophisticated. While there is little debate on the issue of Ris being pleasing to the eyes, there is definitely inconsistency on how she is able to engage people cognitively through well-structured and coherent sentences.
Weighing in on the issue, ERM World Marketing, the organiser of Miss World Singapore mentioned in a press release that "Singaporeans did not pay for her". While the statement is a fact, it is foolhardy to assume and even publicly proclaim such a statement. The very fact that her title holds the term Miss Singapore makes her a representative of the country. It is only right that Singaporeans should have a say in their beauty queen, especially if their arguments are sound and logical. The title of Singapore carries with it the responsibility of a national icon, and as stakeholders of national icons, the people definitely have a right to be heard. The statement from ERM's representative displayed a thorough lack of understanding and has also immediately taken a defence stance on the issue when probed for comments, which blatantly exposed a lack of corporate social responsibility. National icons involve national pride, and the people have every right to be infuriated if Singapore Airlines decided to rename itself or drastically change the image of the Singapore Girl.
Opponents would argue that Ris should have been allowed to keep her crown, and that Singaporeans should be lower than expectations, more understanding and less critical of beauty queens. Some even argued that Ris should be commended for trying to speak in English despite not being well-versed with the language. Indeed, Singaporeans have been more critical of beauty queens than they should be, especially with highly blasphemous and hurtful statements.
However, first impressions do matter, and studies have shown that first impressions are formed within the first three seconds of interaction, with a large emphasis on visual and audio stimulation. Ris did put in effort into speaking in English, and perhaps she might have achieved brilliant results at the international competition. On the other hand though, is it really wise to continue to compete in a particular aspect that one is not strong in? Swimmers do not compete in track and field events and vice versa despite all of them being athletes. Moreover, when it comes down to the final crunch, surely it will not be worthwhile to be taking such a big risk and gamble when the Miss World pageant rules stipulate that other languages be allowed?
The strongest argument against Ris keeping her crown would be her past conviction of credit card fraud. In 2008, she spent over $8,000 over a two month period by using her company's clients' credit cards which she stole when she was working as a clinic assistant. She also insinuated that her past conviction was a small matter as she was only given probation in lieu of a jail-term and does not see how that affects anything.
Clearly, her act of selfishness is clearly not one that a Miss World participant should display. As a potential role model to millions across the whole, honesty and integrity is a key attribute that such a person must have, as highlight by one of our Member of Parliaments to a local newspaper. Her fraud was definitely not a moment of folly as it spanned over a period of two months and she spent her ill-gotten gains on luxury items like watches and handbags, indulging in her consumerist lifestyle with no apparent thought for her victims, some of which may not be affluent enough to pay of the minimum sum, thereby incurring a high rate of interest and falling into a vicious cycle of debt. The probation placed upon her for such a serious breach of trust and the law was merely a slap on the wrist as many others have been prosecuted and been given far more stringent sentences for stealing much less valuable items. Without doubt, the issue at hand would not be the amount stolen but also the act itself, and the Mens Rea (the intention to commit) as well, of which there would definitely be no contest due to the extended duration and the number of times she wilfully used the stolen credit cards without thinking about the consequences.
A role model, which is what beauty pageants queens are, have to be of impeccable moral character, for the many youths to align their morals and values to. It is no wonder why parents do not encourage their children to have Bernie Madoff and Gary Sorenson as role models, despite their apparent ingenuity in being able to defraud billions from names like Santander, HSBC and RBS.
Perhaps what is most obvious from this whole incident is the revelation of how narrow-minded and into elitism Singaporeans are. We all follow the bandwagon and align ourselves to people who speak impeccable English, procure immense wealth, have great personalities, intellect and experience. Numerous Singaporeans love to see themselves as one of those up the ladder, be it economic, social or whatever. They hide behind their facade of being able to speak the Queen's English and the numerous digits of their bank accounts in Singapore, Switzerland and Monte Carlo. Yet, it is these same people, in trying too hard to impress, blurt out words like "irregardless", "sheeps" or "economical situation". In fact, if you bothered to reread this entire post, I will be willing to wager a tenner that it would be riddled with errors and fallacies.
I feel that the greatest difficulty in life and the greatest achievement of all, would be to be perfectly normal and to be able to enjoy the little subtleties of life. I derive great pleasure from paying $3 for a plate of filling and tasty mixed-vegetable rice from the neighbourhood stall and scorn when I have to pay $200 for a meal with a portion which would keep me satiated for all but 7 minutes after dining.
I cannot deny that I myself am guilty of worldly pleasures, lusting for things which a well-paid marketing professional has spent hours working on, like an iPod. In fact, I have even been down the road whereby I look at school uniforms which I do not recognise and scoff deep down in my heart.
At the end of the day, perhaps we need to evaluate ourselves and see if we have fallen into the trap of clever marketing and their gimmicks, be it for a product, for a school, for a course of study or for our ideals and aspirations. How many of us can identify at least one person in our life who has appeared to achieve all that can be desired, and yet seem strangely unfulfiled? Do you really want to wait until you are gasping for air on your oxygen regulator that your wished you did something else with your life be it going to a different university, marrying a different partner or even just not buying that cooking wok that you really fancied?
Ris gave the pageant a good try, and that is all that matters. At the end of the day, she would be able to say "at least I tried". And for that, I shall continue to give her my support, not because she falls within my criterion of aesthetically-pleasing females, nor is she my idea of a national icon due to my upbringing and influences. It is because of the amount of debate that she alone brewed out of our uniform, boring and inherent stupidity in being Singaporean.
And oh, personally, I think she should not retain her crown too.
