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).