Twenty-two-year-old racing promoter Mia Rahaman on Saturday night was crowned Miss Guyana/Universe 2002 and has gotten the chance to prove herself on the international stage next month in Puerto Rico.

Clad in a gown themed `Black Diamond' the tall, elegant and beautiful Rahaman, swept past nineteen other contestants. But as is customary with local beauty pageants, a section of the huge crowd at the National Cultural Centre disagreed with the decision and behaved uproariously. Backing Juanita Collins who placed third, they hurled insults at Rahaman and the judges who included the Chief Justice, the Chairman of the Elections Commission and three international beauty queens.

Rahaman, sponsored by the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph (GT&T), now has a chance of becoming the new Miss Universe as she will be representing Guyana at the contest to be staged in Puerto Rico next month.

Rahaman, sealed up the crowd support from the time she stepped onto the stage in the introductory segment but had keen competition from the first, second and third runners-up, Petal De Santos, Juanita Collins and Sham-mane Joesph respectively. Eighteen-year-old Asha Pieters, whose selection in the final five came as a surprise, placed fifth.

The bad behaviour by sections of the crowd did not dampen Rahaman's spirits as the former Bishops' High School student continued to smile sweetly and hugged and kissed all those who congratulated her.

The night's proceedings did not get started at 7 pm as was promised but closer to 8 pm with Marian Williams rendering the National Anthem followed by a piece by the National School of Dance.

The contestants made their first appearance in identical skirt suits and they came out looking for a lost object which turned out to be crystal ball produced by Ulex Atwell, a contestant in last year's Miss Guyana/World pageant.

This part of the show was expected to be acted out by the 1999 Miss Guyana/ Universe, Morvinia Sobers who surprisingly played no part in the night's proceedings as the queen was crowned by Miss Universe 1999, Bots-wana's Mpule Kwelagobe. Sobers had issued a statement on Friday evening saying that she wanted to be a part of it but that the organisers had not notified her in a timely manner of the events.

It was during the opening segment the girls introduced themselves and were judged in this area and the evening gown segment. The swimsuit and question and answer segments were held prior to Saturday night. It was from the opening segment, Rahaman along with Collins, Joseph and De Santos established themselves as front-runners.

A National Dance School piece followed and then the 20 contestants modelled identical swimsuits designed by international designer, Roger Gary.

Following this there was an overly long interlude of jazz music which undoubtedly put many people to sleep. This year's calypso monarch, VJ also performed his winning piece, `Vote VJ for President' much to the delight of the crowd.

Rahaman, whose dress was designed by Pat Coates and who was voted Miss Congeniality, was simple yet elegant in black silk. The top of the dress fitted closely with three spaghetti straps on both shoulders. The back of the dress was cut low in a V-shape. It was accessorized with a diamante choker, earrings and a hand band. Her high-heeled shoes were black and silver studded with diamante work. Her hairstyle, which was also simple but elegant accentuated her almost flawless facial features and was done by Milady Face & Hairstyles. Rahaman modelled her dress well making full use of the stage, as did most of the other delegates and must have been given the thumbs up by the judges for her poise and confidence.

De Santos, who was sponsored by Grace Kennedy Guyana Limited made her entrance in a stunning black and silver gown created by Pam Fox. Her dress also had a low cut back and was accentuated with small diamante stud earrings.

Collins, Miss Rayon House of Fashion, could not have looked better in a strapless white chiffon and silk gown created by Michelle Cole. The bodice and flowing bottom featured guipure applique and had a slit up the front. It was completed with gold high-heeled shoes and gold accessories.

Joseph's dress was also designed by Coates and hers was described as the best gown of the night. The Miss Infinity Boutique appeared in a beautiful fuschia and silver gown made of lycra with a cold shoulder. The twenty-three-year-old completed her outfit with silver shoes and diamante earrings.

Pieters, who was voted Miss Sasha Face and Miss Body Beautiful, looked like a beautiful barbie doll in a burgundy gown. The back of the gown was low cut and there was a flowing train. It beautifully framed her slim body. Pieters, sponsored by Brandsville Apartments, wore gold shoes and sported diamante earrings. It was after the evening gown segment (see photos of all 20 contestants on the centre pages) that the five finalists were announced but not before all of the girls were presented with a special certificate of participation.

Many persons were surprised that contestant number seventeen, Olivia Brown was not among the finalists. After the lucky ladies were selected they were serenaded by Jamaican singer, AJ Brown.

The girls were then asked the final question which read "If Guyana were to receive a gift of US$100 million how should it be used and why?"

Many thought Collins answered the questions better than the other four delegates when she said she would use some of the money on debt relief to write off some of the country's debt while some would be funnelled into the tourism industry.

Rahaman's answer would also have won marks as she said that the money should be used in the tourism industry to sell Guyana as a tourist destination. She would also use some of the money to build an international airport and complete the road from Guyana to Brazil.

What was unfortunate about this segment is that the contestants' answers were hardly audible and the loud ripostes by members in the audience did not help the situation. The heckling by the crowd has become a norm at pageants and on Saturday night the audience was cautioned on a number of occasions by the master of ceremonies, Walter Green but his attempts proved futile.

Pieters said that she would use the money to build a drug rehabilitation centre for children suffering from drug abuse since it is a serious problem in Guyana while De Santos said she would develop the tourism industry as it is a key area which can build the country's economy.

Joseph would have used the money to develop women especially in the rural areas because in most cases they only have an opportunity to become teachers, nurses and housewives. She said there is so much more these women and all women could give to the country should they be given the opportunity to develop themselves.

After the answers, sections of the crowd were of the opinion that Collins had won and when the judges put her in third place a large section of the crowd became annoyed and started to walk out not waiting to hear who was the queen.

When Rahaman was declared queen at around 11.35 p.m. there was a loud commotion and some patrons hurled abuse at the queen and the judges.

The judges for the night were Jennifer Webster, Permanent Secretary at the Office of the President, chief judge; Chief Justice Carl Singh; Chairman of the Elections Commission, Dr Steve Surujbally; Executive Director of King Solomon's Ltd, Stanford Solomon; public relation consultant, Kit Nascimento; wife of the Charge d' Affaires of the US Embassy, actress, Sheryn Hylton-Parker; Kwelagobe; Miss Universe 1998, Trinidadian Wendy Fitzwilliams and Miss USA 2000 first runner-up, Liane Angus.

Speaking to Stabroek News after the contest, the three international judges, Kwelagobe, Fitzwilliams and Angus, explained that the five girls were not judged on the final question alone but from the scores from all the segments. They described Rahaman as a pleasant person who has the courage and grace to become a Miss Universe. They acknowledged that there are some areas that she needs to work on. Kwelagobe said that as judges they had to choose somebody who they feel had the intelligence, beauty and the capacity to represent Guyana."You can never allow a crowd to sway you in a competition of such a nature because the crowed would not at (the) Miss Universe (contest)", Kwelagobe said. "You want a girl when she walks into the room, the crowd says `whoa', the international press stops and they want to speak to her and when she opens her mouth she is very, very intelligent. Mia has that perfect combination, I think," Fitzwilliams added.

When asked how she felt about winning the crown, Rahaman, the eldest child of four, gushed, "Oh my, wonderful."

The new queen said she is proud, honoured and overwhelmed. She said she thought she had an excellent chance of winning but the competition was "stiff" and she tried her best and it paid off. "I am glad I am having the opportunity to represent my country because I know I am going to do a good job, I know I am going to do an excellent job and I won't disappoint my people," Rahaman, a former hotel and restaurant management student said. To the other nineteen delegates, Rahaman thanked them for voting her as Miss Congeniality and described them as "darlings". Referring to the fact that some persons were not happy that she won, Rahaman said "that's usual I mean you cannot please everybody." She said she tried her best and the judges were impressed. The 23-year-old said she would be listening to the positive comments and is looking forward to shutting up her critics as she is confident she would do her country proud next month. Collins said while she would have been happy to represent her country she thinks Rahaman has what it takes and she would support her all the way.

Joseph, who many thought would have won because of her experience in pageants, said Saturday night's contest was her last.

The "grand ball" staged at the Everest Cricket Ground after the crowning was poorly attended.

The other contestants in the pageant were; Lourianne Pluck, Miss VIKAB; Sissel Moore, Miss Shortt & Friends who was voted Miss Total Togetherness; Anita McPherson, Miss American International School of Medicine; Candacy Evelyn, Miss Bascom & Wilson Enterprise; Angelica Fredricks, Miss Sheraton Services; Jonelle David, Miss Howard & Friends; Heera Raghubir, Miss Adzer Win-Doors Inc; Sheneeze Galloway, Miss Executive Cabs; Tandika Singh, Miss Classical Developers; Darda Harmon-Lewis, Miss York/Horizontal; Tamara Rodney, Miss GTV; Thandi Mc Allister, Miss Roberts Enterprise; Browne, Miss Golden Coast/Milex; Bibi Farroon, Miss Sybil's West Indian Restaurant (New York) and Cephanna Glasgow, Miss Hinds Associates.

Long before the show was scheduled to start persons lined up in front of the centre door waiting to enter and there was a long queue of vehicles causing some persons to hop off some distance away and walk the rest of the way.

The international fashion show which was held after the contest left a lot to be desired as most of the models appeared in skimpy outfits which according to some people would not be worn in Guyana.