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Miss Indonesia quietly participates in Miss Universe 2005
Despite possible controversy at home, Miss Indonesia, Artika Sari Devi, quietly left for Bangkok to compete in the Miss Universe 2005 beauty pageant at the end of May, a local newspaper reported today.
Despite possible controversy at home, Miss Indonesia, Artika Sari Devi, quietly left for Bangkok to compete in the Miss Universe 2005 beauty pageant at the end of May, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.
According to Indo Pos, based in the East Java provincial capital Surabaya, Devi has been in Bangkok since Tuesday and quarantined by the pageant since yesterday.
It is the first time in nine years for an Indonesian beauty queen to enter the contest, largely because criticism and protests always follow the participation of a Miss Indonesia in the international pageant.
The criticisms come mainly from religious leaders who say it is improper for a woman to show bare skin in a swimsuit before an international audience.
Others say that for cultural reasons and "Eastern values," wearing a swimsuit before the public is inappropriate.
The Miss Universe pageant requires participants to wear swimsuits.
In the 1970s and 1980s, at least two Miss Indonesia winners tried to compete in the contest, but avoiding photo sessions and interviews with the media.
In 1996, Alya Rohali participated in the Miss Universe pageant wearing a swimsuit, but her participation immediately raised controversy at home.
Then President Suharto later officially banned Indonesian women from international beauty pageants, saying the competitions were not in line with Indonesian culture.
Devi, who has a law degree from prestigious Gadjah Mada University in the cultural town Yogyakarta in central Java, will compete with 81 others for the title May 31.
