ris low

LAST year, there was a controversy on whether Miss Ris Low should represent Singapore in the Miss Universe Competition. Some Singaporeans say that because of her poor English standard, she should not represent Singapore. However, others say that she is a good example to show the world how Singaporean culture is like.

For me, I feel that what matters most is what the organisers want to portray about a country. If the objective of the competition is to find a person from every country to see who is the most eloquent and intelligent, then I think the group of people with the first view should win. No country wants to send a person who has low education standards and one that does not have global perspective to represent itself. Every country wants their representative to be outstanding and prove to others that they are the best. Hence, I feel that in these circumstances, Miss Low may not be that suitable for this competition.

However, on the other hand, if the competition is to showcase the unique culture of every country, then some thought may be given to consider Miss Low to represent Singapore. Her English is an apt representation of most Singaporeans. Most people here speak their so-called 'singlish', which actually in a sense 'broken' English. Hence, if Miss Low speaks like that in front of an international audience, then people around the world would understand Singaporean culture more and learn to appreciate it. So when they come to Singapore, they would not get a shock when they see the language and how we live.

After weighing the pros and cons, I think that for Miss Universe competition, Miss Low, may not be too suitable as it is an international competition and Singapore cannot afford to tarnish its image.