ASEAN beauty pageant, minus swimsuits
ASEAN beauty pageant, minus swimsuits
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Miss ASEAN pageant will be the highlight of Saturday night
for many television viewers, but some might be a little
disappointed.
The Miss ASEAN pageant, which will begin at 10 p.m. and aired
live by RCTI will have all the usual beauty pageant features --
minus the swimsuits.
"We won't have the finalists in bathing suits. But we are
giving more weight in the intelligence and behavior of the
finalists, rather than their beauty," said Marial Budilla,
scriptwriter for the finals of 2005 Miss ASEAN pageant, told The
Jakarta Post.
In this ASEAN beauty contest, intelligence will be given 40
percent weight, while beauty and behavior will each get 30
percent.
"What we want to do with this event is to identify Southeast
Asia as a region. Similar to Europe, where people always say 'Oh,
I'm going to Europe'," Budilla elucidated.
Businessman Rudy J. Pesik, chair of the steering committee,
reiterated that Miss ASEAN would not include a swimsuit component
because it was more to promote ASEAN tourism, trade and
investment.
Unlike other international contests, this pageant will have
the finalists in their traditional cultural costumes and special
hand-painted gowns, which the organizers believe to be a great
tourist attraction for each country.
The eight finalists will wear traditional costumes from their
respective countries: Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei.
Two other ASEAN members -- Laos and Cambodia -- did not send a
contestant. However, they will send judges, so there will be 10
judges from all of the ASEAN countries, ranging from ambassadors
to businesspeople and journalists to fashion designers.
The event will be broadcast live for two hours to six
television stations in six different countries across Southeast
Asia -- Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia
and Brunei.
It will be hosted by Tantowi Yahya, Sarah Sechan and Jamie Yeo
from Singapore, and supported by various singers, such as Delon
(Indonesian Idol), Jaclyn Viictor (Malaysian Idol), the Moluccas,
Astrid Salim and The Manila Philharmonic Orchestra under the
direction of conductor Addie M.S.
The winner will be awarded with a luxury, all-expense paid
stay in Jakarta, minus a dip in the hotel pool. (001).