Miss Singapore Universe a materialistic Barbie doll

Posted on September 17, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Miss Singapore Universe denies getting boob job’, 16 Sept 2012, article by Charlene Chua, TNP

…The netizens have been working overtime. Some took pictures off her (Lynn Tan’s) Facebook account and posted it elsewhere online. A picture of Miss Tan in her new car – a gift from her British boyfriend – was re-posted on online forums after her win, with netizens calling her “materialistic”. On the HardwareZone forum alone, Miss Tan has also been accused of having had a “boob job”, a nose job and even being a former man.

…On ‘being materialistic’ (after posting a picture of herself in her Nissan GT-R) “I was thrilled as anybody would be to be given the opportunity to drive a nice, fast car (a gift from my boyfriend).”

On ‘looking like a Barbie doll‘: “That’s actually a compliment. I was lucky, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

…On being called ‘a Sarong Party Girl (SPG) for having a Caucasian boyfriend’: “You can’t choose who you want to fall in love with or when or how. Love just happens.”

The MSU national costume is the traditional whipping boy for critics, but so are recycled insults about our Ms Universe looking too masculine or being an SPG. In addition, we have forum trolls ranting about her being a gold-digger and looking plastic fantastic like a Barbie Doll. In 2009, former MSU Rachel Kum ‘came clean’ about having breast enhancements, and such little surgical makeovers in the age of Botox and Lasik are so commonplace that it’s no big deal anymore. You don’t even need to be a natural-born ‘woman’ to participate in MSU in time to come. Lynn Tan can be a computer generated anime chick for all I care, and maybe in a couple of decades, once we get tired of pageants and the transgenders have squeezed out all the competition, the geek fandom’s dream of a ‘virtual’ beauty queen may well be a reality that’s not that cracked up to be anymore.

On Lynn’s ‘materialism’, my guess is as good as anyone’s. What’s certain, though, is that she loves flaunting her boyfriend’s expensive gifts on Facebook, with a photo album consisting of nothing except shoes, pendants and a Dior bag. What’s missing is the $300,000 black Nissan GTR. Well the guy can pamper her however he wishes if he thinks she’s worth it, though if one can get a woman a sportscar as a random present, the only thing that comes to mind for a wedding proposal is a 1 Carat diamond (at least) and a seaside Villa. Maybe a Hello Kitty helicopter too, so that she can fly over a lava-spurting volcano once again in it.

Some girls (and guys) have all the luck, and she does admit a preference for men with burning ambition in them (among other characteristics that you WON’T find in Singaporean men) and resemble ‘James Bond’. You can draw your own conclusions about her choice of mates, but she’s probably not old enough to see all the James Bond films where the charismatic spy acts like a total misogynist womaniser. If detractors continue to diss her for being fake and shallow, well, she can jolly well give them the Goldfinger. She’s Miss UNIVERSE, not Mother Theresa (though the latter was quoted in Lynn’s QnA). Little girls don’t look up to Ms Universes as role models anymore. They adore female vampires, archers, Pussy Riot and that submissive lust-stricken protagonist of Fifty Shades of Grey. Having an angmor boyfriend is nothing, though some ex-Ms Universes do tend to think the world of them.

I think Lynn stands a decent chance at the Grand Finals, though she’d have to do more than spout cliches from religious figures to win the hearts of judges. Swooning over a generous millionaire boyfriend is a strict no-no because judges tend to favour ‘strong, independent’ women, and so are cheesy jokes like what 2011′s contestant Valerie spewed for the whole world to see. And PRAY hard that the national costume doesn’t turn out a sick joke; a polymer gown with prints of SG 100-dollar notes and the face of Yusof Ishak all over it.

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Filed under: 2012, Beauty pageants, Money, Ms Singapore Universe, Transsexuals | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Eduardo Saverin likes Chilli crab

Posted on May 13, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Facebook co-founder gives up US citizenship’, 13 May 2012, article in Sunday Times

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin officially ‘defriended’ the United States last September, giving up his citizenship for the more tax-friendly residency status of Singapore. It is not known if the soon-to-be billionaire has taken up Singapore citizenship.

…Born in Brazil, Mr Saverin moved to the US in 1992 and became a citizen in 1998. In 2009, he relocated to Singapore. Explaining that decision, he told The Straits Times: ‘I got out of Changi Airport and was amazed by the line of trees and saw how clean and green Singapore was. Then I discovered the various entrepreneur programmes and the long list of government funding available for start-ups. I decided I must live here.’

Among his investments in Singapore is Anideo, a technology start-up that has created at least 10 applications for Apple’s iPhone and iPad. Last year, he also invested in Perx (www.getperx.com) a customer loyalty mobile app which has signed up big brands such as Popeyes and Dunkin Donuts.

…Mr Saverin, who likes chilli crab, has kept a low public profile, although he is a much sought-after speaker at entrepreneurship seminars in Singapore. He has also put money into two start-ups in the US – multimedia Web search service Qwiki, and online payment technology firm Jumio.

Saverin’ Succotash!

So where in Singapore is Eduardo Saverin? According to other sources, one of the world’s richest 30-something is living it up in exclusive clubs like Filter, hobnobbing with the elite and supermodels in his luxury penthouse, drives a Bentley, and is a sponsor for ex Miss Singapore Rachel Kum’s cosmetics line Rachel K, all elements of a typical billionaire-tycoon playboy lifestyle that the ST has chosen to omit, instead giving us the impression that he may be found tucking into chilli crab at Long Beach seafood, maybe hanging out with the local uncles drinking Tiger beer in a pair of flip-flops.

If you’re not the sort who clubs at fancy parties or don’t even own a dinner jacket or appreciate fast cars and champagne, you may want to hang around the Sail@Marina Bay if want to catch a glimpse of Saverin. According to the New Straits Times, Saverin has reportedly been dwelling in the ‘tallest residential building’ in Singapore. Put two and two together from this pitch to expats and you’ve got Mr Popularity’s address. In 2008, Indian billionaire turned Singapore citizen Dr Bhupendra Kumar Modi bought a Sail penthouse unit for $15 million, which netted the seller, another Indian-turned-Singaporean tycoon Dr Sudhir Gupta a $6 million profit. Treating property like trading cards is common practice among the ultra-rich, while many of our own locals struggle to even maintain one, and can only gaze up at this steel mega-tycoon playground complex in awe, waiting for them to excrete some small change as we pander to them like gods.  We used to fly kites at Marina Bay, now it’s a Beverly Hills-like showcase for high-flying foreigners. Dr Modi did live in the ACTUAL Beverly Hills, in fact.

Saverin isn’t the only foreigner renouncing a US citizenship to make Singapore his home. Investment guru Jim Rogers moved here in 2007 so that his children could learn Chinese. Gongfu superstar Jet Li has done it too, having given the Americans films like THE ONE and ROMEO MUST DIE, is now residing in a $20 million bungalow in Bukit Timah, and is officially a Singapore citizen as of 2011, despite not working his chops in the movie scene here. Neither has anyone heard from Gong Li since her conversion and subsequent divorce either. We’re known to warm up easily to rich foreigners (some people would call that rich-people poaching), despite the fact that Saverin has left America for good and can easily do the same to Singapore if things don’t go down well as planned with the start-ups that he’s busy funding. Unlike other billionaires who have made it big in Singapore, Saverin is somewhat special. He’s young, Brazilian, fresh-faced, has an interesting job, co-owns Facebook for God’s sake, and may be perceived as an eligible bachelor, though his marital status remains unknown (Rachel Kum insists that they’re good friends who club at Butter Factory once in a while). The words ‘tycoon’ and ‘magnate’ which summon images of grey-haired paunchy men doesn’t apply. Saverin is too cool for that, or even descriptions that end with ‘-preneur’.  Years from now, our kids will think of Saverin when quizzed about famous tech-wizards from Singapore. No one will remember who Sim Wong Hoo is.

Some Americans feel cheated and betrayed by Saverin’s seeming ‘tax evasion’, that he ‘owes’ America for being where he is today.  This billionaire ‘tax dodger’ has 1.4 million ‘subscribers’ on Facebook currently, the same number of people Jesus Christ would have if he had Facebook then. They’re probably many more ‘friends’ in line waiting, like peasants in a king’s court grovelling for a new fence to keep the goats from escaping. If you want to have a foreigner friend in high places (literally) like Saverin, it would also be worthwhile checking out a library book on Meterology, a topic that Saverin is a self-professed fan of. To say his rise is ‘meteoric’ is an understatement, and like a ‘hurricane’ he has swept Singapore off her maiden feet. Let’s just hope he doesn’t change his mind about us like the ‘weather’. Someone once described Singapore as ‘Disneyland with the Death Penalty‘. I think we all know who’s living in Snow White’s castle then.

And yeah I’ll be in a whole new tax bracket/ We in recession, but let me take a crack at it/I’ll probably take whatever’s left and just split it up/ So everybody that I love can have a couple bucks       – ‘Billionaire’, Bruno Mars/Travie McCoy

Filed under: 2012, Bloggers, Foreign workers, Fun and games, iPhone apps, Money, Ms Singapore Universe, Nightspots, Weather | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Transsexuals in Miss Universe Singapore

Posted on April 28, 2012 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Beauty contests’, 28 April 2012, ST Forum

(MR ACE KINDRED CHEONG): ‘Transgender participants should not be allowed to participate in beauty pageants meant for women (‘Miss Universe Singapore: Could the next one be originally male?’; Wednesday). They will have an advantage over biological women as some, if not all, will have undergone cosmetic surgery. Instead, why not have beauty pageants meant solely for transgender participants?

Transsexualism has been discussed rather openly in Singapore since the early 80′s, where attempts have been made to distinguish the terms ‘transvestite’ from ‘transsexual’, as well as define the colloquial ‘ah kuas’, the latter often used interchangeably between a transsexual, an ‘effeminate’ man or  ‘sissy’ or a ‘male prostitute’, yet SBC deemed it ‘appropriate‘ for use in drama serials.’Transgender’ was coined as recently as the 1990′s, as in LGBT, a term that may be preferred when addressing the community as a whole as it seems to take the ‘surgical knife’ undertones off ‘transsexual’, though both are still commonly used in the media today. ‘Ladyboy’ and ‘bapok’, however, have become derogatory, though ‘bapok’ in Malay literally means ‘effeminate’ (like the equally offensive catch-all that is ‘ah kua’), while ‘Tranny’ and ‘shemale’ are reserved for porn genres. When it comes to transsexualism, even quotation marks can be highly offensive, as in ‘woman’, ‘sister’ or ‘queen’ to describe transwomen (men who became women).  The Malaysian press has even hidden the full word behind an acronym, TS.

Even the same act of ‘going under the knife’ has been euphemised over the years. Today it’s called SRS or ‘sex reassignment surgery ‘, when we used to call it a ‘sex change operation’. The Miss Canada Universe who started it all, Jenna Talackova, herself underwent ‘GENDER reassignment surgery’, the term ‘assignment’ making the procedure as innocuous as amending one’s birth certificate. Like most behavioral deviations, transsexualism has also become medicalised;  if you’re born a man and feel like a woman you have a ‘gender identity disorder (GID)’, which implies that ‘feeling like a woman’ when you’re a man is a form of ‘sickness’. The term ‘intersex’ has been proposed as the ‘third gender’ for official purposes, though being ‘intersexed’ could also refer to a sex development disorder in which one was born with ‘ambiguous’ genitalia i.e hermaphrodites, a term used to describe flowers and worms other than human beings.  Hermaphrodites, other than getting embroiled in sporting arena controversies, also have their own problems dealing with transsexual beauty contestants who were born 100% male.

Allowing transsexuals in pageants puts judges in a spot, even if it may well boost up ratings. You don’t want to appear to cast a sympathy vote nor do you want the LGBT community to complain about discrimination if their representative fails to even make the top 15. Cosmetic surgery also may not give that desired edge over female participants (unless the writer was thinking of shocking beauties like Thailand’s Nong Poy below). But perhaps this is more a victory for ‘medical science’ than anything else. Or rather medical science AND make-up. But wait a minute, since when was Miss Universe JUST about LOOKS (or femininity for that matter) anyway? Didn’t ‘masculine’ Tania Lim take the crown in 2010?

For every Nong Poy...

...There's this.

There are already transgender Miss Universe-ish pageants as we speak, such as the Miss International Queen pageant (which allows transvestites as well), not to be confused with Miss Tourism Queen, Miss Global Beauty Queen and Miss QUEEN OF THE WORLD. Still, this is a vast improvement from our stigmatisation of transsexuals in the 80′s, when they were barred from such contests because it was seen as an ‘embarrassment’ and  a ‘big joke to organisers’. It would be a while before we see transsexuals or transvestites in high-flying positions such as doctors, lawyers or politicians (though some may be closest cross-dressers…there’s a difference!), but pitting them in competition against natural-born females could be symbolic of this social ‘inclusiveness’ that the PAP has been bragging about, even if the platform is as superficial as a beauty contest, or in the promotion of ‘cabaret’ shows (Does that mean our pageants need to be R18 as well?)

Audiences are suckers for underdogs, and since the Miss Universe franchise here needs saving, a transgender Miss Universe Singapore hopeful could very well be a Beautiful Boxer in the making. But first, we’ll have to lift the bar on transsexuals into certain clubs, and that includes Ladies’ Night, to show that we really mean it. Still, it’s hard not to be hypocritical when advocating equality for transsexuals as a heterosexual man. Some would rather be seen in public with an openly gay man than a transsexual, and I for one have reservations about getting a hot oil massage from either.

Filed under: 1980s, 2012, Beauty pageants, Cross dressing, Ms Singapore Universe, Names, Sex, Transsexuals | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Ms Singapore Universe: Mice live on moon cheese

Posted on September 10, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Cheeky or cheesy?’, 10 Sept 2011, article by Kwok Kar Peng in TNP and ‘Is this S’pore’s national costume or rojak’?, 10 Sept 2011, Stomp.

Miss Singapore Universe 2011 Valerie Lim has left netizens agog with her unusual replies to the three questions that were posed to all 89 contestants this year for the Miss Universe pageant’s official online Q&A video interview.

When asked if Lim believes in life on other planets, the 26-year-old said rather jokingly: “I know the moon is not a planet, but I think it’s made of cheese, and so mice live on cheese.” She paused momentarily before adding with a giggle: “The moon cheese!”

Miss Singapore Universe Valerie Lim wasn’t the only Asian contestant who gave quirky replies. Miss Thailand, for example, said the animal she would like to be is ‘plankton’.

Still, English is not the first language of these beauty queens, so something may have got lost in translation.

It’s a bewildering response upon first viewing, but compare Valerie Lim’s answer to the rest of the Miss Universe hopefuls and you’ll realise that this tongue-in-cheek faux pas is a deliberate and bold juxtaposition of an endearing pun and whimsical cliche, delivered with unusually cool confidence and self-effacing child-like humour. Though naysayers would slam this as bimbo playacting and astronomy fans would beg to differ on the actual composition of our satellite, Valerie’s playful answer, if taken the right way by the pageant judges, clearly distinguishes her from the other finalists, who were taking the obvious, but dull, scientific approach and speculating on the probability of aliens using whatever rudimentary knowledge they have about astrobiology and alien invasion movies. Some, like Miss Great Britain, grossly and disappointingly underestimated the expanse of space by using the baseline of  ‘solar system’ instead of the more likely ‘galaxy’ or ‘universe’ when explaining the probability of extraterrestrial life (By the way, she also would like to be a caterpillar. Eew). To be exact, the actual lunar cliche specifies that the moon be made of GREEN cheese, and has been in use, astonishingly,  since the late 1800′s (Thoroughfares, Straits Times Overland Journal, 13 Dec 1879).

If Valerie doesn’t score points on accuracy, surely she deserves credit for saying something unexpected and choosing to steer away from blind speculation and countering one cliche with a cuter one. But maybe this question wasn’t really a test about how many times one has read Carl Sagan’s Cosmos or seen the movie ‘Contact’, but how stylishly one can pull off a somewhat existential poser without sounding like a wannabe astrophysicist. Other than the fact that Valerie could pass off as a nursery school teacher who could trick little kids into believing Jupiter is a really a giant orange, her diction is assuredly cosmopolitan and polished, with only the surprising Malaysian and Indonesian contestants to beat. Couple her unsettling spontaneity with a sense of parody with regard to perceptions of pageant sexualisation and it’s possible that we have a high-scoring MSU in the making.  It would be tragic, however, if she were let down by the perennial bugbear of all MSU contests to date: The national costume segment.

(On Miss Singapore Universe’s costume, Stomp): …”This outfit deliberately combines different styles into a mish-mash of styles and cultures, but I can’t help but feel that it’s all been forced together somehow. “The colours and styles all end up looking ‘rojak’ to me, like someone just tried his or her best to blend it all together.

“Some people have even said it looked like a carpet or curtain. Unfortunately, though I am behind Valerie a hundred percent, I have to agree.

Princess Jasmine wearing Aladdin's carpet

This has bits of Miss China, India and Saudi Arabia mixed in it, which was probably the intention of the designer to weave our multicultural heritage in one costume. Well, you’ve got to admit it’s at least better than our Merlion disaster and last year’s silver bore. Good luck, Valerie.

Postscript: Miss Angola won the title, while Miss Phillipines and Miss China were the two Asians making up the top 5. I guess hoping for a once in a blue MOON event (Miss Singapore in Top 10) is too much to ask for.

Filed under: 1800s, 2011, Beauty pageants, Dress sense, Ms Singapore Universe | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Kebaya for beauty pageants instead of swimsuits

Posted on August 6, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘Beauty queens and too much skin’, 6 Aug 2011, Mailbag, Life!

(Musliha Ajmain Janssen):…I would not presume to know whose idea it was to include the swimsuit in the beauty pagents but from what I have learnt, it is more than just about showing off one’s best figure.

In Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Northern Europe where the climate is usually cold, women do not get a lot of chances to wear a swimsuit. When the seasons change and they do get the chance, it is a very big deal, which is why they call it the ‘swimsuit season’. Furthermore, most of them do not have easy access to the beach.

Women there also vary in body shapes (Italian and Spanish women are known to be more curvaceous) which makes watching the competition a lot of more interesting compared to Singapore, where most of the contestants are naturally thin.

Singapore’s climate enables swimsuit wear at any time of the day…so I fail to understand the point of the swimsuit category other than to merely follow the beauty pageant formula…For example, a kebaya would be a good way for the contestants to show off their figures…A kebaya shows off as much, if not more, than a swimsuit does.

This fuss over swimsuits and sexism comes in the wake of organisers of Miss S’pore World 2011 proposing to remove this category altogether, which would surely spell the downfall of the beauty pageant as we know it. Nothing but words being minced around here, with the writer’s final argument being self-defeating because instead of focusing on talent and intelligence as would be the typical stance of feminist swimsuit naysayers, she recommends instead body hugging kebayas as an excuse to ‘show off as much, if not more’ than a normal swimsuit does, though I fail to see how this is possible unless you’re talking about transparent kebayas.

Well to each his own, and call it sexist if you will, but what all men want to see is a teasing flesh parade, not SIA stewardesses on a catwalk. Bikinis are simple and almost anyone with a stunning figure will look good in it, but choose the wrong kebaya and you risk looking like a Nyonya grandmother. What’s left unspoken here, and in fact everywhere else,  is that bikinis don’t just signal figure or complexion, it is also a dead giveaway of bust size, something that kebayas can easily  conceal, or enhance. And no one can deny the harsh fact that being well-endowed does help in the overall scoring for this segment, and hence overall chance of success.

It’s also baffling to say swimsuit contests are unnecessary because Singaporean women get to wear these at any time of the day, as if it were office attire. This is Singapore, Ms Janssen, not Club Med. A woman looking good in a bikini on a beach is as rare a find as one who dazzles in a kebaya on the streets. But the horrible truth is this, men don’t gawk at women in just bikinis anymore. With the internet and Photoshop, nothing is left to the male imagination. We’re not interested in women putting on a sexy show for the sake of it. We’re interested in the context in which their sexiness is presented. A paparazzi shot of an otherwise conservative actress in swimwear intrigues us, whether or not she has a good figure.  But line up smiling bikini-clad women in a contest and asking of a selection like wares at a slave market and you’ve lost our attention.

Although removing the swimsuit category, or anything hinting at nudity from beauty pageants, may encourage more smart, talented, even chubby women otherwise averse to exposing their bodies to sign up for Miss Universe and the like, what’s the point if no one’s interested?  From a purely commercial perspective then, swimsuit contests are a necessary evil, if only for the minority of men who haven’t yet discovered the internet or prefer to snap shots of Miss World in the flesh at shopping malls.

Swimsuit contests in 1954

1965

Still in one piece in 1988

2010

Filed under: 1950s, 1960s, 1980s, 2010, 2011, Beauty pageants, Ms Singapore Universe, Nudity, Singaporean women | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

National flag more than a piece of cloth

Posted on August 6, 2011 by gdy2shoez

From ‘A national flag is more than a piece of cloth’, 5 aug 2011, Voices, Today

(Sanjay Bhatia): I REFER to Mr Chan Hean Boon’s letter “Let’s fly the Singapore flag” (Aug 3). As a foreigner in this country, I am appalled that a Singaporean blatantly blames the influx of foreigners as a reason for the erosion of Singaporeans’ love for their country (“I believe the influx of foreigners over the past few years may have slowly eroded our affection for this country, and Singaporeans no longer have the passion to fly the flag”, 3 Aug, Voices, Today)

Hanging flags outside flats does not reflect a love for the country. A flag is more than just a piece of cloth, to be counted. It is to a nation what a name is to a man. I know of a lot of countries that even have rules on how to hoist the national flag and how to respect the flag. People fight and die for their national flags.

I would like to remind Mr Chan what the Singapore national flag represents: The Singapore National Flag consists of two equal horizontal sections, red above white. In the top left canton is a white crescent moon beside five white stars within a circle. Each feature has its own distinctive meaning and significance: Red symbolises universal brotherhood and equality of man; white signifies pervading and everlasting purity and virtue; the crescent moon represents a young nation on the ascendant; and the five stars stand for the nation’s ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality. Lastly, as a foreigner, I respect Singapore and applaud the Government for building such a great nation.

I have a number of Singaporean friends and colleagues and have never felt any hatred such as that shining through Mr Chan’s letter. It may do him good to take a step back and understand the meaning of the red colour in the flag that hangs outside his own home.

The state flag as we know it today is about 52 years young (Singapore chooses own flag and anthem, 9 Nov 1959, ST) and this foreigner is spot on with the symbolism, though most Singaporeans are unlikely to be able to rattle off what the five stars stand for.  I used to think these were taken off the Pledge (..to build a democratic society based on justice and equality…so as to achieve happiness, prosperity, and progress for the nation), which explains why so many others can’t recall the fifth star (peace), or mix this up with ‘prosperity‘. He left out the part on ‘red’ symbolising the blood of all men, that no nation was built without first sacrificing her sons and daughters in the process. Nothing special about red really, most nations have it splayed all over their flags, and probably for the same violent reason. (On a side note, Bhutan has my vote for the coolest state flag ever)

This rather arrogant response is revenge against being accused of diluting the patriotism in this country, and no Singaporean would relish the thought of being educated on the meaning of the flag’s colours by a foreigner (more so if we don’t know the answer ourselves), though the complainant’s lecture on flag symbolism sounds like a 10 year series entrance exam model answer to qualify for citizenship. But is it really the foreigners’ fault? Were we more patriotic before the immigration influx or did we simply grow tired of the same shebang year in year out? Are our immigrants just a convenient scapegoat masking a more deep-seated apathy towards nationbuilding and what it represents?A poll conducted in 1989 revealed that Singaporeans are a hapless lot when it comes to state flag trivia, with some giving pathetic guesses like ‘five races: Chinese, Indian, Malay, Europeans and Caucasians’ to explain why there are 5 stars (Many do not know flag’s significance, 29 July 1989, ST). Back in 1972, state flags were already treated worse than kitchen floor rags (Surely a symbol of loyalty should be something like this? 19 May 1972, ST). So it’s not just about foreigners,  and Chan Hean Boon’s veiled jingoism is perhaps an excuse for the fact that we just don’t care anymore.

Incidentally, having a flag outside your home doesn’t necessarily mean you adore the country. The one flying outside my corridor was set up mysteriously overnight, along with rest of the floors, neatly arranged in a straight line on the block. I figure it’s the complacency of having the government create this festive illusion for us instead of people  getting together, making the effort to tie flags to poles, erecting and saluting them that is the cause of our woeful attitude. We, the citizens of Singapore, are more likely to have Halloween parties than National Day Parade theme parties, simply because Halloween is more fun.

Another reason could be the display of the flag being governed by rather antediluvian state laws which makes it rather tedious for anyone who wants to express their pride for the country in a creative way without running afoul of Paragraph 6 of the ‘National State Arms and Flag and National Anthem rules’, first drafted in 1960 in which it forbade the use of the state flag as a ‘print pattern or for other commercial purpose”. Which means you can’t wear a T shirt with the Singapore flag on it then (maybe you still can’t). 1969 Miss Tourism Rosalind Ong contravened the law by sporting the national flag design, and the restriction was exercised again as recently as 1986, almost landing Miss Singapore Universe  in trouble too (See pic/link below, Not the way to keep flag flying, 5 June 1986, ST).

Pageants aside, any artist wanting to use the state flag as an inspiration and motif would also get his work banned outright, being in flagrant violation of the State Flag laws (Govt’s red flag up over art, 25 Jan 2003, Today). Just last year, another artpiece was slammed for showing utter disrespect to the source of its inspiration during the ‘Paint the Town Red and White‘ exhibition. And who could forget the image of our waterpolo boys in full on skimpy NDP mode burned in our retinas.

No wearing of Singapore flag on the head

In 2007, the regulations were updated to read as follows:

Use of Flag

…9.—(1) No person shall use or apply the Flag or any image thereof —

(a) for any commercial purpose; (b) as a means, or for the purpose, of any advertisement; or (c) as or as part of any furnishing, decoration, covering or receptacle, except in such circumstances as may be approved by the Minister, being circumstances wherein there is no disrespect for the Flag.

…(4) Subject to paragraph (5), no person shall use or apply the Flag or any image thereof as or as part of any costume or attire except in such circumstances as may be approved by the Minister, being circumstances wherein there is no disrespect for the Flag.

…(6) Subject to paragraph (7), no person shall produce or display any flag which bears any graphics or word superimposed on the design of the Flag.

(7) Paragraph (6) shall not apply to the production by or on behalf of, or the display by, any Government department of its flag.

(8) In this rule, ‘‘receptacle’’ includes a paper, plastic and refuse bag.

Meaning, if you don’t want to be $1o00 poorer, it’s better to play it safe and not display it at all, or hire someone to stand guard 24 hours a day by your flag just to make sure it doesn’t get flipped over or have any birdshit on it. You also can’t throw away a crumpled dirty flag into a ‘receptable’ even if it reeks worse than a soiled diaper without asking the Minister for permission. It’s also strange how locals get slammed for being creative, but nothing is done to apprehend Malaysian football fans  for defacing it in what’s obviously in contravention of (6) above, unless of course, the law doesn’t apply to foreigners.

Bad spelling is a greater crime

The word ‘disrespect’ is also ambiguous; burning or using it wipe your buttocks after a dump is a clear fine straightaway, but what’s more dodgy are scenarios like wrapping a newborn infant in it, using it as a blanket or posting the flag on your blog with the words ‘I LOVE SINGAPORE’ photoshopped over it. With so many restrictions, it’s really not surprising that our willingness to express our national pride is..(get ready for it)..flagging.

Happy National Day, Singapore.

Filed under: 1950s, 1970s, 1980s, 2000s, 2010, 2011, Art, Beauty pageants, Festivals, Foreign workers, Justice system/Lawsuits, Ms Singapore Universe, Public holidays | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Every gown has a silver whining

Posted on August 14, 2010 by gdy2shoez

From various letters in ‘Gown a let-down’, 14 Aug 2010, Life! mailbag

(Simon Chua): …It (Miss Singapore Universe Tania Chua’s gown) is plain, dull and looks like it can be bought at any bridal or evening gown boutique…If this is a competition to produce something that represents Singapore, shouldn’t the whole country be involved?

(Cheyenne Chang):…Why is a student designing the national costume? We have a few internationally acclaimed fashion designers in Singapore who can do a better job.

Not very Prom-ising

I thought Tania would be let off this time round with this underwhelming silver piece, what with people calling her too dark for a beauty queen and all. But the real tragedy here is how our Miss Universe hopefuls never once have a say in what they’ll be bringing to the world stage, instead leaving it to the artistic naivete of student designers, who can’t be blamed for living in an uninspiring time of cultural identity erosion.  As for Singapore designers, Cheyenne, the key phrase here is ‘internationally acclaimed’, and in view of how nobody in this country can agree upon a national dress, or have the slightest clue of what it should be,  whether it’s silver, shiny red, or plastered with scallop shells, any professional  attempting to doll up our representatives is flirting with international career death. Local arts scene wise, we seem to have a low tolerance for young artistic talent, as UOB Painting of the Year winner Bai Tian Yuan would tell you.

Filed under: 2010, Art, Beauty pageants, Ms Singapore Universe | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

Dark matter in her Universe

Posted on August 7, 2010 by gdy2shoez

From ‘新加坡环球小姐　被批皮肤黑样子像男人’ 7 Aug 2010, article in omy.sg (Sin Ming Daily)

新加坡环球小姐林金钻，被批样子像男人，皮肤“黑鲁鲁”，质疑她如何代表新加坡。

22岁的客户执行员林金钻自摘冠以来，频频遭到人身攻击。有人猛批她样子像男人，看起来像“阿官”，又说她皮肤太黑。

…但她说：“国际选美赛中那些菲律宾、泰国或甚至是美国的佳丽，不也是皮肤黑黑的吗，她们在比赛中的表现却都很好。”

Fear of a Black Pageant

Translation: Miss Singapore Universe Tania Lim, fresh from accusations of being an SPG, is again drawing racist flak that her skin is too dark, even though she’s Peranakan Chinese, and that she looks too masculine. She justifies her win by comparing herself with dark skinned winners of Thailand and the Philippines.

Well to each his own, but such commentary on dark complexion marring beauty would spark racial outrage if we’re not careful. Tania, understandably miffed by this whole SPG business, should have done her research before making the dark Thai/Filipina beauty queen remark instead of jumping on the defensive. As you can see from below, this year’s Miss Thailand (gender verified) isn’t dark-skinned at all, and to be honest, more stunning than any of our 2010 finalists. SK-II, makers of whitening serums, are in the boardroom sketching out their next marketing blitz as we speak, you know, just in case Tania needs some quick cash on the side. If it’s any consolation, Tania should look up to the likes of African-Chinese model Lou Jing for inspiration, who with sheer gall, had to face the discriminatory wrath of at least half a billion, porcelain-white-skin-loving Chinamen.


Miss Thailand Universe 2010 Fonthip Watcharatrakul

Lou Jing: China Black

Filed under: 2010, Beauty pageants, Ms Singapore Universe, Racism, Singaporean women | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Ms Singapore Auntie pageant 2010

Posted on May 30, 2010 by gdy2shoez

From ‘环球小姐惹争议　有脑有貌佳丽没夺冠军’ 29 May 2010 and ‘新加坡环球小姐被炮轰：佳丽素质越来越差’, 22 May 2010, articles from omy.sg

有脑有美貌，问答有急智，新加坡环球小姐比赛上的大热门，却没有得冠军，令许多观众起哄，大感失望，有人还因此认为比赛素质大不如前

…她昨天在问答环节也表现出众，引来场内观众的欢呼和鼓掌。不过，这名佳丽却没有夺冠，冠军是11号的林金钻（22岁）。

林金钻毕业自澳洲一间大学的大众传播系，目前在一间制作公司当户头执行员。她长得比较黝黑，回答问题时表现平平，没有给人惊喜的感觉。

Translation: No 7 favourite Annabel Tan should have rightfully worn the crown at the Miss Singapore Universe pageant 2010. Articulate, fairer and having wowed the crowd with her Q n A, it was disappointing that Tania Lim won instead. Not that anyone actually follows the non-televised event anymore. But such farcical American-Idol-like outcomes (Adam Lambert vs winner Cris Allen) may just stir enough controversy to bring this back to the silver screen again.  Annabel is also currently doing volunteer work in Third World countries i.e. unemployed. If that’s not the ultimate prequisite for the crown I don’t know what is. If you need further convincing why Annabel should have won, check out the differences in replies to interview questions. Tania’s worrying cliche-spilling is symptomatic of the Miss Universe franchise today and looks like some automated response from an online beauty queen line-generator. By the way, she’s an account executive, which probably explains everything.

Contestant 7: Annabel Tan

Q: What are the benefits of being a woman?

A: More importantly being a woman gives us the great privilege to be a mother and honestly, you girls know we are what men can’t live without.

Confident, cheeky.

Contestant 11: Tania Lim

Q: Would you date someone who is much younger or much older than yourself?

A: Well I think age is just a number and I believe respect and chemistry is much more important in a relationship to make it blossom and if you have that, age is not a problem at all.

Boor-ing.

Winner on the left

And one can’t help notice the striking resemblance between Tania and ex Singapore Miss World Teo Ser Lee.

After and before

Of course, trust the Chinese media to snap on the poor quality of this year’s finalists first, with netizens fuming about the finalists looking like ‘aunties’ and wondering where all the beautiful women have gone.

本地美姐被炮轰素质越来越差，2010年的新加坡环球小姐佳丽，被网民狠批长得像安娣，不知是小姐本来就不美，还是造型出问题.

…至于今年的佳丽，一名女公众就说：“佳丽不是很美，好像也没什么智慧，有什么好看？”

一名网民说：“新加坡没更美的小姐吗？这是不是新加坡安娣选美赛？”

网民瑜乐园也说：“这些佳丽是不是造型出了问题？还是摄影出问题？也或许他们找错女生来参赛了。”

Now all we just need is a scandal…

Filed under: 2010, Beauty pageants, Singaporean women | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

This one tips the scales

Posted on March 3, 2010 by gdy2shoez

From Merlion gown creates waves June 5 2008 article in ST

(Karen Ng) thought the dress ‘looks awful’ and is ‘antiquated’, not representative at all ‘of Singapore as a modern, chic country’.

‘It could’ve been an avant garde, high-fashion look that’s very Galliano but this is far from couture.’

‘It looks like a normal pretty dress made out of scales with a fish-tail … It reminds me more of a beautiful fish or mermaid than the Merlion, as there is no resemblance.’

Nothing lion-ish which ever way you look at it. Fashion designers should stop using such ‘haute’ niche terms like ‘Galliano’ to describe fashion as if we would understand it. Miss Singapore Universe 2008 Shenise Wong’s marine-inspired flotsam looks like a recycled prop stolen off a school play rendition of the 1980′s Tom Hanks romance ‘Splash’.

Blisterin' Barnacles!

Filed under: 2000s, Dress sense, Merlion, Ms Singapore Universe | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

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