WENDY JACOBS ON WINNING MRS SINGAPORE ...

SHE was poised and elegant, and her catwalk experience showed in the way she strutted on stage.

In contrast, many of the other contestants looked as if they couldn't wait to rush off stage and had their eyes permanently rooted to the stage floor as they walked. Was there even a doubt that Wendy Jacobs would be crowned Mrs Singapore?

But did being Mrs Fandi Ahmad help her to win? After all, she had chosen to be known as Mrs Fandi Ahmad in the contest.

The other contestants had entered under their own names.

Hardly the shrinking violet, Wendy felt her celebrity status in no way won her the crown.

She said: 'You've got to have beauty and brains (to be crowned winner) and I think that's why I'm wearing the crown right now.'

Wendy, 29, won the most prestigious title, Mrs Singapore World, last night at the finals held at Neptune Theatre.

When asked whether it was a foregone conclusion that Wendy would win, one of the judges, Mrs Cori Teo, insisted: 'I think it was a fair and stiff competition.'

Pressed further as to which other contestants provided the stiff competition, Mrs Teo, who is also a former Mrs Singapore, gave a vague reply: 'I think they're all very good.'

Whatever the case, it was obvious Wendy left the other contestants trailing in her dust.

This, even though the native South African model lost out on the Mrs Photogenic Title, which went to a shocked 34-year old Mrs Hazeliene Heng.

She had thought Wendy was the obvious choice for the title.

A mother of four, Wendy had gone through more pregnancies than her competitors, but her svelte and toned body also earned her the title of Mrs Body Beautiful.

THE MODERN MUM

Wendy also displayed a spunky, 'modern' mum attitude when asked how she would protect her children from pornography in the question-and-answer session.

Her reply: She would not hesitate to let her children view pornographic material, as barring them would only increase their curiosity. Instead, she would let them make their own informed decision.

Not exactly politically correct, but political correctness seemed out of fashion at the pageant.

When asked what her advice would be to children on the topic of terrorism, one contestant replied: 'Do unto others what others have done unto you.'

President George W Bush would have been proud of her.

The contestants on the whole lacked polish and for many, the question-and-answer session proved a stumbling block.

A favourite with the crowd, Mrs Theresa Chung's answer should have elicited loud guffaws when she named country singer Kenny Rogers as one man who's made a significant contribution.

Not that there's anything insignificant about country music, but Mrs Chung dug her own shallow grave when she claimed Mr Rogers possessed great foresight seeing that there are so many 'chicken outlets' bearing his name around the world.

But the crowd, made up of the contestants' family and friends, was there to support their loved ones.

Hence, Mrs Chung, who was competing for the Classic Mrs Singapore title, received warm applause for her bizarre answer.

This article was first published in The Straits Times in 2003.