AS FORMER beauty queen Ris Low once said in her now-famous video interview: “It’s all about me.”
The pages of various newspapers over the past two weeks have been filled with articles about her, sparked off by a my paper report last month that she had been found guilty of creditcard fraud.
Some people may feel that the media went overboard in its coverage of the issue.
But the media’s role is to ensure accountability. Between pageant organisers and beauty queens, and the country they represent. Between newspapers and readers, to whom the press has a responsibility to uncover the truth for.
Hence the steady stream of reports by various media, which shed more light on the saga and eventually forced pageant organiser ERM World Marketing to break its silence last Monday.
The reports also revealed how Singaporeans felt about the issue. Some felt that Singapore should not be represented by a girl with a criminal past and poorly spoken English to boot.
But others, perhaps recalling their own mistakes, expressed discomfort at the barrage of criticism against her, and called for giving her a second chance.
The media blitz and the public pressure which followed may have influenced Ris’ decision to step down.
Even her harshest critics would have to agree that she has paid her dues, having been sentenced to two years of probation for her folly, and being stripped of her crown and her dream to represent Singapore.
But who is ERM accountable to, given that there is no regulating body for beauty pageants?
One could argue that it is accountable to Singaporeans, since the pageant winner will fly Singapore’s flag internationally.
But ERM does not seem to think so. Before last Monday, it had initially refused to reply to any queries about the issue, and had told The Straits Times: “Singaporeans did not pay for her.”
Questions still need to be asked and answered. When did ERM find out about Ris’ conviction?
What will it do to appease the public and the sponsors?
Most importantly, what will it do to ensure that this doesn’t happen again?
Readers, stay tuned.
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Credit card fraud --solution--> create a self-deluded psychological condition
Bad diction --solution--> maximise your psyhological condition again. It got you off the legal hook once, it might do the trick again.
Bad PR --solution--> Say you blind or handicap.
Please lor. Organiser yet never check email cos she's blind? This is obviously a scapegoat/ a decoy/ an emotional blackmailing excuse.
ERM has alot of accounting to explain.
Now we know the key person as ERM is blind (she has admitted it herself) wonder if there are others at ERM as well as the judges are also blind (not neccessarily physically but also intellectually)