Who are we to laugh at Ris Low?

Because we are Singapore.
Because Ris Low is representing Singapore.
Because I believe deep down, no matter how much we complained about this country, we are patriots and we are proud of the achievements from this little fishing village.

I admit I am guilty. I was one of those who viewed the video interview of Miss Singapore World 09, Ris Low, and laughed. Mostly, I was appalled at how she won.

But after reading last Sunday's newspaper, I was even more taken aback by the words of Ms Jennifer Yin, Head secretariat of the Speak Good English Movement.

"If you can't speak good English, don't even attempt to speak to them in broken English..." makes me wonder how old Ms Yin is. I am in my late 20s and many of our parents in my generation did not have the priviledge of higher education. Their English is not fluent and their Mother Tongue may not be perfect. Is Ms Yin insuitating that our parents then do not speak to us at all? Isn't it through every day communication, every day use that you improve your language skills?

What consitutes good English? Do we pronouce every syllable or do we attempt to speak with an accent? Singlish like all other "forms" of English is a slang. It is a nationalistic way of speaking in Singapore. Much like the local slang of Australia, USA and UK. I am sure Singaporeans are not criticising that Ms Ris Low speaks Singlish but her pronouniciation was appaling and her diction was unclear.

Ms Yin also mentioned that she hears Ms Low's speech patterns on the train from young people. Well, I am not sure what train she has been on (probably another planet) but from where I came from (Singapore), young people do not say "rad", "preens" or "zip-bra".

While it is heartwarming to read Ms Tracy Lee defending Ms Ris Low, I do disagree with her statement that "this is a beauty contest". We need to remember that beauty contests as such are also platforms to showcase Singapore to the rest of the world. We may not win. We may not even get to semi-finals. But who we send is a representation of our country. She will have the chance to network with representatives from other countries. She will serve as an ambassador of our nation.

Do we want other countries to know Singapore as one that "boomz"?