ABOUT two weeks ago, Sekolah Sri KDU student Liew Demie, 17, spent approximately RM750 on her school prom – held in a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur – and that was considered average.

You see, even though prom is supposed to be the secondary school event of the year for seniors to get together one last time as schoolmates, they can be just about the most lavish and wildest parties around town, too.

For example, some of Demie’s friends spent over RM5,000 on their prom dress alone, while some guys rented fancy cars (one of which was a Hummer!) so they could pick up their dates and friends, and arrive at the end-of-school celebration in style.

And we haven’t even mentioned the after-parties, usually held at some fancy club or in a room upstairs at the hotel. Either way, that would cost even more money.

Demie Liew (left)

I don’t know about you guys, but my “prom” was basically me and my friends walking down the road from our school for banana leaf rice after our final SPM paper.

According to Demie, however, grand and expensive proms are now just as much a part of secondary school as sports bras, wedgies and iffy toilets.

Proms and money
The fact that proms these days have become so expensive is not a surprise, considering almost every teen flick these days feature some form of a glittery prom or year-end ball, from Jennifer’s Body to High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

“Every school or college has a prom like that these days, and they’re usually held around the end of the year. It’s quite similar to what you see in the movies. I’d say about three quarters of what we do in our proms were picked up from movies. It’s like the final get-together for all the graduating students, the final event in school for us to create some great memories,” explained Demie.

Some guys even go the whole nine yards with the traditional prom etiquette, picking up their dates and putting on corsages (a flower tied around the wrist) for them.

“My mother is a florist so some of the guys from my school were ordering corsages from her. I thought it was really cute that they picked the girls up from their houses just like in the movies,” Demie recalled fondly.

But those memories don’t come cheap. Sandra Tan, 17, has been to three proms in the past two years, including her school prom a few weeks back (most proms are open to students from other schools).

“A lot of money is spent on proms. The average prom dress would cost around RM300-RM700, and that’s not inclusive of shoes and bags. Hair and makeup can go up to RM240. On top of that, there’s also the prom ticket which is usually RM150, but can go up to RM170,” Sandra revealed.

Organising these proms can be pretty pricey too, especially since most secondary school proms are not considered official school activities. Demie was part of the unofficial committee that organised her recent prom, and she said the students had been raising funds almost all year long.

“There were so many things we needed money for – the ballroom, food, decorations, lighting, sound system, etc. Proms are definitely pricey these days.

According to Sandra Tan (second from right), pictured here at a prom organised by her Sri Cempaka schoolmates, most students spend several hundred ringgit on prom dresses, hair and makeup, and prom tickets.

“Our school wasn’t involved at all; it was completely unofficial. It was basically organised by the students, for the students, so we searched for sponsors ourselves, and did stuff like sell ice-cream to raise funds,” Demie said.

The students who organised Sandra’s most recent prom were RM2,000 in debt at one point, and they had to go around looking for sponsors to cover the costs.

Promise of greater things
With college proms, money and sponsors are a little easier to come by. Many college societies, faculties and clubs organise their own proms or balls. Naturally, expectations tend to be a bit higher.

Most college proms these days feature celebrity guests, and performances by popular local bands.

For example, the Sunway University College ACCA Club’s prom earlier this year was hosted by JJ from Hitz.fm and television host Rina Omar, and they also had music performances from local rock bands Bus Company and SilentScream.

Also, celebrity blogger Kenny Sia wrote about a 2008 university prom he was invited to that had celebrity host Jien and model Stephanie Chai as the event emcees, and top local indie bands Estranged and Pop Shuvit providing the entertainment.

“It’s pretty common to be able to get these celebrities for college proms because it’s good exposure for them,” said Rebecca Ng, 20, president of the ACCA Club.

Rapper Caprice (in the red cap) performing at Sandra Tan's prom a few weeks ago.

“These days, college students don’t just expect to have a party where they can dress up and get to dance. They expect a good band, some celebrities guests and a good after-party.”

In order to get her fellow accountancy students interested in the prom, Rebecca says the committee included an after-party at a nearby club in the price of the prom ticket.

“We worked out a sponsorship deal that allowed us to use Sunway Hotel in Petaling Jaya for the prom dinner and Euphoria club for the after-party, and it only cost the students RM90, which is considered really cheap

“We had to make sure it was good value for money because these are all accountancy students!” she joked.

And just to show what a big deal these proms can be for the students, Rebecca has been approached by several groups of secondary school students asking for help to organise their own unofficial proms.

“There really are a lot of unofficial school proms going on these days. I guess some of them thought since I already had the contacts for the venues, celebrities and bands I would be able to help them out,” she said.

The after-party
Unfortunately, some of these students have picked up the good and the bad of prom culture from TV.

According to Jaspreet Singh, 19, things can get pretty wild once the prom dinner is over, and the pre-requisite after-party begins.

“They’re teenagers, you know, so not all the stuff they do is legal. A lot of them are underage, but if you walk around Kuala Lumpur long enough you’ll find a club that will let you in for the after-party.

“The most recent prom I went to was about three weeks ago. We had an after-party at a club, and then we spent the night at the hotel – which we booked and paid for ourselves. At after-parties like these, there’s usually drinking and sex,” said Jaspreet.

Sandra added, “The after-parties in clubs are usually where it gets nasty on the dance floor. There’s a lot of body contact. Some just have their after-parties in hotel rooms, with bottles and coolers of alcohol ready. A lot of them get drunk and there’s always hanky-panky under the covers. Some couples get rooms, and well, with two teens in a room, they usually have sex.

“Alcohol and sex seem to have become a ‘norm’ for prom nights which I feel shouldn’t be, but I suppose with TV shows and all, it’s no big surprise.”

But for Rebecca, if you take away the crazy after-parties, drinking and sex, a prom can still be one of the most beautiful, wonderful experiences from our schooling years.

Jaspreet Singh says that things get wild at prom after parties.

“I think proms complete our educational experience. You study, you graduate then you have a prom – it provides a nice ending to it all,” she said.

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