BEAUTY, it seems, doesn’t always lie in the eye of the beholder – or in this case, judges.

Local pageant winners have been accused of paying for their titles by spending the most amount of money on advertisements and tables for pageants like Miss Singapore World and Mrs Singapore, The New Paper had reported previously.

Ris Low reportedly spent $12,000 – the most among her fellow contestants - on 10 full-page ads in the 52-page programme booklet and three tables at the Miss Singapore World finals, organised by ERM World Marketing in July last year.

Low won the title but relinquished her crown in September last year after being lambasted for her poor English diction and credit card fraud conviction.

Some contestants were reportedly upset at the way winners were picked at another pageant organised by ERM, the 2008 Mrs Singapore pageant.

The contestant who bagged five titles, including Mrs Singapore Globe 2008, had booked six tables, received 17,710 online votes and placed eight ads, The New Paper reported in 2008.

When contacted by The New Paper in 2008, ERM’s event director Tracy Lee flatly denied this.

She had told us then: “The titles had nothing to do with the amount the contestants spent on the pageant.”

When contacted by The New Paper for this article, Low, 20, insisted she won “fair and square”.

She said: “I took time to better myself and even went for grooming classes. I think I did pretty well during the finals because I have catwalk experience. I think I deserved the title.”

Similarly, contestants pointed out that aspiring local singer Cheryl Wee received the loudest cheers from her family and friends who occupied five tables at another pageant, the Miss Singapore Universe (MSU) 2009 finals.

She still lost to Rachel Kum and emerged second runner-up.

When contacted, Wee, 23, said: “My family and friends bought tables because they wanted to support me, not because organisers asked us to.”

Then there’s MSU 2010 first runner-up Annabel Tan who was the favourite to snag the title in May. Her placard-waving entourage took up four tables, overwhelming that of eventual winner Tania Lim’s supporters.

In an attempt to dispel speculation, ERM allowed The New Paper an exclusive look into this year’s Miss Singapore World pre-judging process, which took place at InterContinental Singapore last Saturday.

This was the first time the media had been invited to what is usually a closed-door affair.

Transparent

We want to be transparent, ERM’s Ms Lee said. “People are saying that the girls buy tables to win the title... It’s based on one’s strengths – nothing else.”

As for background checks, Ms Lee said they still have to rely on contestants’ integrity and honesty to declare previous convictions.

Opening the pre-judging process is a good move by ERM, Mr Errol Pang, president of MSU organiser Derrol Stepenny Promotions, told The New Paper.

Like ERM, Mr Pang said he has invited the media to observe the MSU’s pre-judging event before.

“Pageants have to be transparent. Revealing the pre-judging process enhances the integrity of organisers. It helps destroy the myth that organisers practise favouritism,” he added.

Entertainment lawyer Samuel Seow, who was part of Saturday’s judging panel, made it a point to ask every girl if she had a criminal record.

“I was asked to,” he said. Another judge, Manhunt Singapore 1999 winner Eddie Oh, welcomed the move as it “lends some scrutiny and credibility”.

He added: “Transparency can only be got if we know the scores are audited. That’s the only way to be fair.”

However, Ms Lee said scores “are not audited” and “judges have the final say”.
During our time at the pre-judging, we saw judges scribble grades against each contestant’s name on a piece of paper.

The scores earned from last Saturday’s pre-judging round will be tabulated and help determine the pageant’s top 10 finalists out of the 23 contestants, Ms Lee said. These 23 were chosen from the 45 women who auditioned.

Whether this will dispel the speculations of a rigged pageant remains to be seen as Ms Lee did not want to elaborate on the tabulation process.

Still, contestants welcomed ERM’s attempt to be transparent.

Freelance fitness trainer Jacelyn Lin, 26, said: “What you see is what you get. I haven’t heard any stories about us paying our way through.”


Pre-judging process a yawn


THE girls flashed their megawatt smiles, batted their false eyelashes and fielded questions to the best of their linguistic and intellectual abilities.

But judges were none too impressed. During a break, one of them was overheard complaining to the others.

When he asked one finalist why she should win the title, all he got was: “Why you ask me such a question?”

This contestant even punctuated her sentences with “then hor” seven times, the judge hissed.

Another finalist was also stumped when asked the same question.
After a long pause, her eventual reply was that she had a friendly personality and she could make a lot of friends.

Clearly, the Q&A segment had been intimidating for some finalists.
Some had little eye contact – a big faux pas – with the judges and were later told to work on that. Some could barely force a smile because of their nerves.

“Oh my god, that was so not fun,” one contestant exclaimed when she returned to the holding room.

“I feel so naked,” said another when the time came for contestants to parade in bikinis in front of the judges.

But for the most part, last Saturday’s pre-judging procedure was a hair-tearing blah affair.

There was none of the same excitement that surrounded the Ris Low fiasco.
Instead, it was a wearisome process that lasted nearly four hours in a freezing conference room.

First up was the Q&A segment which took up much of the time. Each of the 22 finalists – one contestant failed to show up for unknown reasons – had to be interviewed by every one of the nine judges for five minutes.

Do the math.

Decked out in evening gowns and cocktail dresses, contestants had to introduce themselves and even ask the judge for permission before taking a seat.

Mundane questions like why she should win the title, what she hoped to achieve in five years and what her traditional values are were doled out.

Unsurprisingly, textbook (read: boring) answers were given.

Former Manhunt winner Eddie Oh, who was on the panel, advised Singaporeans to manage their expectations.

He said: “I don’t think the contestants will be able to match the public’s expectations which is very high. It’s difficult to please everyone but I think there are some here whom we can groom.”

Postgraduate student Goh Pei Wen, 23, admitted that she did hesitate taking part because of Low.

Miss Goh said: “It was an unfortunate and isolated incident. From what I can see here, the girls are smart and high-achievers. Critics don’t know these girls enough to judge them.”

Air stewardess Clanna Lim, 25, added: “At least I had the courage to join. What happened is in the past. I’ll just be myself. Ris Low is Ris Low. I am Clanna.”

This article was first published in The New Paper.