WOULD you like to be Miss Singapore World?

That question put the beauty pageant’s second-runner up Pilar Carmelita Arlando, 20, in a state of agonised indecision for 24 hours.

There were mid-term exams (due next month) to think about. And going for the Miss World pageant in South Africa would mean she had to be away from her family and friends for five weeks.

On the other hand, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent the country.

In an exclusive interview with The New Paper, the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) student said: “It was agonising when I considered what I had to sacrifice.

But it’s a rare opportunity to be on the world stage.

“And if it’s something you want to do, then there’re things you have to sacrifice.”

It all began last Friday .

Pageant organiser ERM World Marketing called Miss Arlando and her parents for an interview to see if she would be suitable to succeed the original winner, Miss Ris Low.

Miss Low quit her crown on 29 Sep after a previous conviction for credit card fraud was exposed.

Miss Arlando’s mother, Mrs Bernadette Arlando, 49, a pre-school supervisor, said: “The organisers asked if Pilar had been charged in court before and if she had done anything unlawful.”

ERM also asked if Miss Arlando, whose father is a policeman, had any disciplinary problems in school.

Miss Arlando was also asked if she could take the media glare that comes with being a beauty queen.

Then, at the end of the interview, the organisers asked if she was ready to succeed Miss Low, to which she replied that she needed a day to consider.

Confidential

On Sunday evening, she decided to accept the title, but ERM told her to keep it confidential until the transition was approved by Miss World organisers in London.

The Miss World pageant starts in London with a charity dinner next month, and the finals will be held in South Africa in December.

MDIS called Miss Arlando yesterday after hearing the news and she will be discussing make-up exams and classes with the school on Monday.

Mrs Arlando considered accompanying her daughter for the pageant finals but decided against it after learning that the contestants’ schedules would be too tight for her to be near Miss Arlando.

Even when news of Miss Low’s offences broke, the Arlandos did not think their daughter would succeed her.

Said Mrs Arlando: “We just took it one day at a time. Now, relatives and even my old classmates have been calling to congratulate me.”

Miss Arlando added: “I thought the first runner-up (Miss Claire Lee) would take the title after Ris quit. I didn’t expect to get a jumpstart.”

She said she did not have high expectations when she joined the contest as it was her first.

“I certainly didn’t expect to be in the top five, let alone win,” said Miss Arlando.

ERM World Marketing said they picked her over Miss Lee as the latter said she had a back injury.

It said in a press statement: “The international pageant will be a physically and psychologically demanding experience. It would be best that she (Miss Lee) remains to recuperate in Singapore.”

Unfazed

With the Miss World finals just a month away, Miss Arlando is unfazed by what appears to be a lack of time to prepare.

Before being chosen as Miss Low’s successor, Miss Arlando was preparing for the Miss University pageant, which will be held next March in South Korea.

The top five contestants in the Miss Singapore World pageant get to compete in other international pageants and Miss University is one of these.

Miss Arlando has been taking grooming classes under the tutelage of Ms Colleen Francisca, 27, who won Miss Singapore World 2006.

When Miss Low said in a Razor TV interview this week that she would back Miss Arlando to succeed her, the latter was touched.

Coincidentally, Miss Arlando and Miss Low are classmates in MDIS and she has been offering the latter moral support in the wake of the debacle.

She said: “ERM was concerned for Ris’ welfare and asked me how she was coping. Ris is like a ray of sunshine. She comes to school looking happy every day.

“I always tell Ris to stay strong and not to worry about what others say about her.”

This article was first published in The New Paper.