Indonesia's beauty pageant

Indonesia's beauty pageant

From Media Indonesia

Indonesia's 2001 beauty contest final, broadcast live by
Indosiar not only filled me with excitement, but also pride and
awe. Although Indonesia is in the midst of uncertainty, Mustika
Ratu and the Foundation of Indonesian Girls were still able to
feature a program of national scale.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the
winners and the organizers on their success in presenting the
event. We do hope that the winner can later become a successful
ambassador for Indonesia in promoting tourism and boosting the
image of its people to the world.

Lamentably, there is something that the organizers should have
taken into consideration. When the contestant from North Sulawesi
was given a chance to talk, she didn't care to express her
gratitude to the province she represented, but instead made
mention of a particular name. What she should have first done was
to show pride for her province and then others. From that point,
I am afraid that she could be judged incapable of playing her
role as her province's ambassador for tourism.

Another point to note is that, during intervals, the
organizers didn't stage traditional dances, e.g. Balinese or
Betawi, although the event itself coincided with the 474th
anniversary of Jakarta. On the contrary, the organizers featured
creative dancing -- something which did not at all reflect the
very mission of the program relating to tourism and culture.

This kind of program is related to the empowerment of women,
so, therefore, it requires the support of the related minister.
But, alas, I didn't catch sight of her face. I have no idea
whether she had been invited or not, but Tantowi Yahya -- the
Master of Ceremonies -- didn't mention her name or her
representative in the event of her absence.

Hopefully, the next beauty contest will be much better.

ARIEF CH KERTAPATI

Jakarta