Hometown girl Dian takes Puteri Indonesia title

Hometown girl Dian takes Puteri Indonesia title

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With Miss Universe 2003 Amelia Vega on hand to witness the
crowning, hometown favorite Dian Krishna was named Puteri
Indonesia (Miss Indonesia) on Friday night.

The 25-year-old Jakarta representative was a surprise pick
over second-place winner Sisca Amelia from West Kalimantan and
third-place finisher Melissa Yasmin Kapitan of Maluku at Teater
Tanah Airku, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta.

The selection of the winner came down to the three finalists'
answer to the question, "What is the first thing you think about
when you see the beauty of the sunrise every morning?"

All three women gave answers about feeling thankful for their
blessings in life but Dian, a graduate in communications from
Royal Melbourne University in Australia, was the only one to
answer in English.

She said she remembered her mother's instructions for her to
pray every morning and be grateful, although she did backtrack
during her answer to note that she actually prayed before
sunrise.

Still, slip-up or not, it was enough to convince the jury and
beat out Melissa and Sisca. Both of the other women, who were
also educated abroad, had received solid support from the
audience and were picked by commentators during the show,
broadcast live on a private TV station.

Vega, at 18 among the youngest women to hold the Miss Universe
title, remarked on the similarities between her homeland of the
Dominican Republic and Indonesia. "This is my first stop in
Asia ... the people here are very nice and kind, like in my own
country," she told host Tantowi Yahya.

Other winners at the ceremony, which was attended by Minister
of Tourism and Culture I Gde Ardika, included "miss congeniality"
Evelyn Natalia Gunawan (Central Java), "most talented" Umi
Kalistasani (Yogyakarta), best regional dress Ratu Habibie
(Gorontalo) and "viewers' favorite" Fallia Rima Alamsyah
(Lampung).