New 'Abang' and 'None' chosen

JAKARTA (JP): Erlangga Hananda Seto, a student of an aviation academy, and Valerina Novita Daniel, a student at the University of Indonesia, were named Abang and None (Mr. and Miss) Jakarta on Friday night.

In a party held in the Sapta Pesona room of the Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture, the two were selected from among 1,110 contestants from five mayoralties here.

Erlangga, 25, was Abang Central Jakarta, while Valerina, 21, None East Jakarta.

They were both awarded prizes including tickets to Perth, Australia, cash of Rp 3 million (US$384) and packages from sponsors.

The two were selected by a panel of judges including top model Ratih Sanggarwati and former TV presenter Rusdi Saleh.

The criteria established by the judges included communication ability, foreign language competence and knowledge of city tourism.

"They are the best from their respective mayoralties. We have chosen them to become our tourism envoys," the City Tourism Office head, Witjaksono Muwardi, said.

This year's event, however, was organized in the absence of Governor Sutiyoso, who was in Brunei Darussalam watching the Indonesian team compete in the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Erlangga and Valerina replaced the 1998 Abang and None Jakarta, Leonard Abdul A.D. and Dessy Syarif.

The event has always attracted a large number of Jakarta youths, as chances to become popular were opened wide for winners. Many previous contest winners have moved on to become top models or movie stars. (jun)