Salaam to all
lovely readers,
Watching Borneo
Hornbill Festival, Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan and other traditional/cultural-oriented
beauty pageant never failed to keep me on
wondering one thing - do beauty pageants
really contribute to the society? And if they do, is this contribution a
positive or negative one? Winners, care to explain?
To begin with, I
have asked (randomly) few contestants and audience (during the competition).
The main question I asked was simply if they believe beauty pageants contribute
to society. Of all the contestants (and audience), only few numbers do actually
contribute to society; and out of these, some said that they contribute
positively. These results that I got from a small percentage of the general
public were similar to my beliefs and were the outcome that I had expected.
In my honest point
of view, pageants promote good for the
community most is through the chosen winners and the responsibilities that they
have. In the case of Borneo Hornbill
Festival and Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan, the winners are expected to utilize the
platform to carry with the duties in a positive way. Such as promoting culture;
collaborate with any tourism boards; speaking
at public events; publications; be actively involved in charity works and many
others.
Great example:
Veeky Leonora-Andria, Kuman Iban winner, Borneo Hornbill Festival 2011. She is an active blogger. She has been a consistent
writer since winning the coveted title. Already a cultural enthusiast, she
wrote in her blog, "The information
from my blog is mainly from what I see, I read, I experience, I feel....I
believe that the things that I write is true to me and I tried my very best to
convey the truth of what I know."
Paren Nyawi,
Mister Brilliant Smile/finalist, Keling category, Borneo Hornbill Festival
2011. He walk the talk. Winning the hearts of BHF fans, he used the platform as
a stepping stone to promote Borneo (Sabah/Sarawak) cultural biodiversity
through several approaches - blogging, visual/printed promotions, modeling, road
shows and lots more cultural-oriented activities.
Ricky Kimwah, an
educator from a Lunbawang descendant, is an enthusiast in discovering his root
through travelling in the rural area of Sarawak. He was one of the judges
(together with Veeky and Paren) during Borneo Hornbill Festival 2013.
Next, we have Dianni Murni Kayar, Unduk Ngadau Kadazandusun Murut Johor State Level 2013 Winner/Top
Fifteen Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan Sabah State Level 2010. She is a flight
stewardess for Malaysia Airlines. Her career helped her to travel all around
the globe and exposing herself with a unique cultural experiences. She enjoyed
taking photos featuring people and cultures, and share the captured moments
with others.
And the list
goes on...!
On the other
hand, joining pageant will also mean exposing ourselves extensively in a positive
way. Contestants will be able to develop new friendships, get scholarship money/prizes
and most importantly gain a greater self confidence. The sense of achievement
that came through exhibiting the accomplishments will motivate a contestant to become an even better person.
All in all, I
have come to believe that pageants do in fact contribute to society in positive
way. As the very beginning there are positive aspects (and negative aspects),
but mostly positive. Although the contribution pageants make is at a limited
scale it is still important. Aside from giving me some good entertainment,
pageants serve the purpose of discovering new leaders, letting people promote
good causes, acting as a means for contestants to show their accomplishments,
as well as many other positive things.
Dear Borneo Hornbill Festival 2013 winners, make
this reign the most exciting and satisfying experience possible. Be
prepared to take the ride of your life. Let the public witness your hard work,
your positive attitude and the stunning image you display. We, the judges,
agreed to choose you because we can see the potential in you, and together with
the rest of our friends out there will give you extensive support in whatever
field you are doing.
Best of luck to
you in your future endeavors.
Much love.
1 comment:
As my point of view, i do see it differently. Honestly said, I dont think the pageants nowadays serve the good purposes for their ethnic. Permission to write in Bahasa.
Sebab kenapa saya berpendapat sedemikian kerana kebanyakan peserta hanya mengutarakan pendapat untuk mempromosikan budaya, tempat dan memelihara budaya dan adat resam tradisi masing masing supaya dunia dapat mengenali dan kagum dengan budaya di Sabah dan Sarawak. Pada saya, ia memang bagus kerana ianya mengikut tema pertandingan yang dijalankan iaitu Pertunjukan Budaya dan salah satu tradisi wajib bagi kaum Sabah dan Sarawak. Namun, pada pendapat saya, saya masih merasakan bukan itu tugas sebenar atau peranan yang perlu dipikul oleh peserta.
Pada pendapat saya, peranan-peranan dan tugas yang harus dipikul oleh peserta-peserta ialah 'apa yang boleh mereka buat untuk orang-orang/etnik mereka sendiri'. Contoh yang boleh diambil ialah pertandingan Unduk Ngadau, Unduk Ngadau adalah sebagai memperingati lagenda Huminodun yang rela mengorbankan dirinya untuk memberi tanaman kepada kaum kadazandusun yang sedang menghadapi kebuluran akibat tanaman tidak menjadi. Dalam situasi sekarang, kita boleh lihat bagaimana keadaan di Negeri Sabah, banyak rakyat hidup susah, taraf hidup masih rendah walaupun kos sara hidup semakin meningkat. Why not, this pageant memainkan peranan untuk membantu kaum sendiri untuk keluar dari kemiskinan. Tidak boleh bergantung harap kepada simpati ahli poltik sahaja, saya rasa peserta-peserta ini boleh menjadi orang tengah untuk memohon bantuan untuk kebaikan kaum/negeri masing masing. Sebagaimana semangat dan keikhlasan Huminodun melakukan sesuatu yang terbaik untuk kaumnya, semangat seperti itu lah perlu ada pada ratu dan semua peserta peserta pertandingan. Berkhidmat untuk kaum dalam menjaga dan memelihara budaya dan tradisi, dan seterusnya membela nasib dan hak kaum sendiri.
Sekian.
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