CRITICS have called our local pageant scene a "showgirls' club" and a "gay parade".

So, this year, the newly-appointed licensees of Miss Singapore World and Manhunt Singapore have something to prove.

Both contests are undergoing makeovers, much like the contestants who have been chosen to compete in them. Looks will still count in the race, but this year, brains and substance take centrestage.

Miss Singapore World 2011

WHAT are your views on infanticide in India?

Are you for or against plastic surgery?

Discuss.

While these may seem like General Paper essay topics, they were questions that were posed to the Miss Singapore World 2011 hopefuls on Saturday at the pageant's first audition round.

This was to identify the intelligent women, pageant organiser Raymund Ooi told The New Paper.

Held at beauty salon The Hair Secrets Beaute Care, which is sponsoring all the grooming needs of the contestants, the 20 applicants could only take deep breaths before tackling each topic.

It was made harder as some had to answer them while facing the judges and wearing only their bikinis.

The women had to first meet the panel - consisting of former plastic surgeon Dr William Khoo of Victory Clinic and Surgery; Ms Irene Teo, owner of The Hair Secrets; Mr Paul Lee, former Miss Malaysia World pageant licensee, and Mr Ooi - in cocktail dresses and then appear again in swimwear.

Two women even broke out in rashes due to their nerves, while others stammered and tried to regain control of their shaky voices.

Some took the path oft-trodden - by simply not answering the question.

The contestant who was asked about the killing of baby girls in India due to a preference for boys cheekily replied that women are needed to give birth to those baby boys in the first place.

One who was quizzed on what she wanted to do about world poverty said her "biggest wish" was to fly to impoverished countries to help the starving.

But even after much prompting, she still couldn't name a single country she wanted to help.

To make things worse, she asked the judges: "You know? The one with the black people?"

When asked if she meant Africa, she nodded blankly.

Then, as an afterthought, while still on the world poverty question, she said she wanted to make enough money to take her mum for a holiday - to one of the impoverished countries, which she still couldn't name.

Even simple questions were misunderstood.

One contestant with coloured tresses, when asked if she dyed her hair often, replied with a baffling "even if I don't dye it, it'll look the same".

Another said that she was for plastic surgery only if a girl "wants it" but doesn't "need it".

After going on about how "great" enhancing one's looks was but how "wrong" it was to get work done so that "your boyfriend will like you more", the confused contestant finally broke down and confessed that she had had a nose job.

When asked how she would go about being a spokesman for children's charities, as that was the main cause of the Miss World pageant, one contestant replied: "I think that everyone deserves to be helped."

But there were also those who impressed the judges with their confidence and sound answers.

One girl, when asked her views on wealth, said that money was important to her, but she added that she has always kept in mind she shouldn't want more of it in a "negative way".

She then tied it back to educating children by saying that she wanted to help not only the needy, but also those born with a silver spoon in their mouths realise that hard work and not money was what made goals all the more satisfying whenfulfilled.

Mr Ooi said there were some "quality contestants" in this year's batch who had both beauty and brains.

Singaporeans Elle Xue and May Hsu were two standouts, but their places in the pageant are not in the bag yet.

We were asked not to reveal any of the women's particulars until the finalists are determined.

Another round of auditions with 20 more hopefuls will be held at the end of this week.

This article was first published in The New Paper.