After losing the crown in 2009, Ris Low is back
for this year’s Miss World S’pore pageant.
(Youtube)
Never one to shy away from the spotlight, 25-year-old fallen
beauty queen Ris Low has vowed to make a comeback in the Miss
World Singapore pageant this year.
“I’m serious! I’m going to join the Miss World Singapore pageant
again!” she told The New Paper.
Despite being dethroned as Miss World Singapore in 2009, the
excited Miss Low still has her eye on the coveted crown.
Her decision to join the pageant once more comes amid changes
being made to the Miss World Singapore pageant, such as a bigger
cash prize.
In a bid to improve the overall standard of the pageant in
Singapore, Miss World Limited has dropped ERM World
Marketing as their local pageant organiser.
Mr Raymund Ooi, 46, the owner of new licensee Limelite
Productions, is willing to put up an attractive cash prize for the
pageant’s winner so as to attract a higher calibre of
contestants.
“In Malaysia, they have offered RM100,000 (S$40,000) cash prize
for the winner, so I’m hoping to match that,” he said. “I think
S$40,000 plus the trip to the Miss World finals, which can cost up
to S$15,000, is quite attractive.”
Said Miss Low,”In comparison, the prize for the pageant that I
joined was the S$2,000 trip to South Africa for the Miss World
finals. There was no cash prize.”
She claims that ERM World Marketing did not provide enough
support in terms of things like sponsored gowns worn by the
contestants. The ex-licensee could have found better sponsors and
cited how contestants from other countries were dressed in designer
gowns for the pageant, she added.
“I’m joining the pageant again because I feel that if I had been
given the chance to represent Singapore (instead of being
dethroned), I could have shone,” she said.
She admitted that she would have done better if she had
been put through classes to teach her to walk, dress and “basically
how to work the whole package”.
“Now, if I can get lessons on how to be a top beauty queen, then
I definitely want to show the public that I can do this based
on my own merit,” she added.
But the “bigini”-loving Ris may not have an easy time at
this year’s pageant if Mr Ooi has anything to say about it.
To avoid another Ris Low debacle, the organiser has vowed to
conduct more stringent checks on the finalists of the Miss World
Singapore pageant this year. On top of that, he will also engage a
credible panel of judges to pick excellent pageant contestants.
