Getting Low on Ris

I've just come back from a very happy moment with the other half and so, instead of commenting about something serious, I thought I would drop a line or two about Miss Ris Low, Singapore's recently dethroned Miss Singapore World.

Ris, as we all know by now, is a 19-year old with a fairly cute face, fairly attractive body but sorely lacking in the brain department. Thanks to Ris, we in Singapore have a new sport - ripping the piss out of our beauty queens. Instead of talking about how our Sovereign Wealth Fund is spending the tax payers money, the chattering masses in coffee shops and internet chat rooms are ripping the piss out of Ris.

The girl cannot help but set herself up to be ridiculed. The more she does anything, the more you want to cry - STOP, you're fucking yourself. Her first act of folly was to give an interview about her fashion sense to Razor TV, the internet TV arm of Singapore's flagship newspaper, The Straits Times. Razor TV scored a coup and it's interview with Ris talking about her diploma in "Horse Pee Telly Tee," and how she'd wear something "Ret and Lout" when she's feeling naughty - "Something BOOMS." The most daring thing Ris has "Won, was a Piece of Bikini and just jeans."

OK, you get the drift. Miss Cute Bod is not much more than that. She can barely string a sentence together in English and it was ironic that in her maiden speech as Miss Singapore World, she declared that what she wanted to do was to show people that,"Not all beautiful people are bimbotic."

That was the funny part. What was not so funny was the fact that a few days after winning the contest, it was discovered and publicized that she's got a criminal record for having fraudulently acquired other people's credit card numbers and then used it for a shopping spree. At the time of the contest, the girl was serving a probation period. Instead of offering to resign and apologizing to the nation, she hung on for a few more days until enough pressure was placed on the organisers for her to be persuaded to go.

Ris has been a source of amusement for Singaporeans. It's not everyday that one of our own makes it to the world wide web's piss take list. The newspapers were happy too - the girl made instant copy for them. I mean, she much more fun to read about than earth quakes next door that actually kill people.

But let's leave the jokes aside. Ris is undoubtedly stupid and a silly opportunist that had the misfortune to get caught being stupid and opportunistic by the media. However, while the girl is an easy target to take the piss out of, her folly reflects a few social problems.

Let's start with her inability to speak understandable English. It's actually acceptable to not be able to speak English at all, let alone well. Contrary to what the rest of the English Speaking world may think, English is not the only language on the planet. There are people who don't speak English but they do speak another language.

What can non-English speakers do when they're in situations where they have to communicate? The two strategies are:

a - Struggle in English but make sure you're from a country where nobody expects you to speak English. That way, the English speakers become more patient with you and in fact they end up admiring you for trying to speak a language that's not your own. If I remember correctly, Miss China won kudos for taking her interviews in English back in, I think, 2003.

b - Speak through an interpreter. That way you work in the language you are comfortable in and thus appear more confident. The South American Beauty contestants always speak through an interpreter.

Unfortunately neither option is available to poor old Ris. At the age of 19, she belongs to a generation of Singaporeans who were educated in a system where the language of instruction is English. Furthermore, the girl is studying for a diploma in "Horse Pee Tality," so one has to assume she has enough brains to pass entrance exams, which are not known for being easy in Singapore. This is not some refuge from China trying to struggle in a foreign land.

So, if Ris has been through an English-language based education system up to pre-tertiary levels, how is that she is totally unable to string a sentence together in basic English? Either she's really stupid (which is convenient for the rest of us), or there has to be a failure in the system somewhere down the line.

I'd like to think that Ris is a freak of nature when it comes to her inability to string simple sentences together. However, I've heard enough, supposedly highly educated people (educated at some of the top universities in the world) struggle to speak in basic sentences and so, I'm inclined to suspect that there has to be a systematic failure in the education system.

OK, the language issue or rather than the lack of it is very funny. What's not so funny is the fact that her criminal record came out in the public after she won the crown.

The first people who should be shot for this are the organisers. Miss Singapore World does go onto the International Stage in the Miss World Contest. Surely anyone organising the contest would be conscious of this and do everything to ensure the candidates for the crown are somewhat 'kosher.' Besides, Singapore is a small and highly computerised place. Everyone has a number that's used for everything - so it's not exactly difficult to do a background check on the contestants.

Now, if the organisers of such a high-profile contest have such lousy due-diligence, what does that say about other organisations in Singapore? Are we as Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew says, "Complacent." Ris was stupid enough to get exposed in the media - what happens in organisations that don't receive so much media attention?

More worryingly is the fact that when the news of her "criminal" past came out, the girl refused to resign. Her line of defense was something like, "I'm sorry, I know what I did was wrong but I worked very hard for this crown." She totally does not get the point. She's supposed to be an international ambassador for the country and she fails to see that there is a certain amount of moral authority one needs to do the job in a credible fashion. In short, this little Bimbo loves her position more than she loves other things.

As repugnant as I find her behavior, can you really blame her? She's a 19-year old girl - impressionable and easily influenced by the elements around her. So, knowing that about her, what does that say about our culture.

Obviously not allot. I mean we have a culture where a minister can get away with not offering his resignation when his ministry seriously screws up. It's more important to the powers that be that the said Minister remain in his office - which admittedly a highly paid one. It's on public television and when you, the member of the public gets upset, the media "scolds you" for being "complacent."

How else can you expect this 19-year old with not much brain to react when this is what the so called "leaders" of society do? Ris has not much brain but sees a way to the top. The top shows that it is above the rules of human decency. So what do you think she thinks? If political leaders believe they are entitled to office just for being who they are...well what do you expect of a 19-year old beauty queen?