I WAS a finalist in this year's Miss Singapore Universe pageant.

The issue of whether the pageant should be televised or not is trivial, and hence I fail to understand the furor surrounding it. What would motivate beautiful young women to take part when Singaporeans would hardly get a chance to know who they are without the platform of national TV?

I think this insinuates that all participants are superficial fame-seekers. Admittedly, the statement may not be entirely wrong. But let me point out that the pageant traditionally aims to find a girl who embodies both inner and outer beauty.

Sadly, it is true that the purpose of the pageant has, over the years, evolved into a stepping stone for aspiring starlets to break into the media circle.

This is a sentiment I have heard even within this year's batch. Even then, some of them had no idea that the pageant wasn't going to be televised.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that not all of us picked up the application form because we are hungry for celebrity.

To that end, I actually find MediaCorp's non-involvement advantageous, in that the factor of fame is eliminated. Girls will no longer be prompted to join for the sole sake of public recognition. Perhaps now it will be easier to identify those who are in it to draw attention to their causes, instead of themselves.

Without the mainstream media, I see the pageant going down a less commercial route. Will the quality of the pageant suffer as a result?

To this I say, quite the opposite. It is my firm belief that, in the long run, this will do more good than harm to Miss Singapore Universe's reputation. I see the pageant reverting back to its traditional role - bringing together women who want to make a difference in our world.

From Sarah Yap

The above letter was first published in The New Paper on May 28, 2008.