Associated Press & Putri Prameshwari
Miss Indonesia, Zivanna Letisha Siregar, joining Miss Ireland, Miss Israel and Miss Italy on stage during the swimsuit event held on Aug.16 as part of the preliminary stage of this year’s Miss Universe Competition, on Paradise Island, Bahamas. (Photo: Brennan Linsley, AP)
Miss Indonesia Tops Miss Universe Poll
The Miss Universe contestant from Indonesia has emerged as the crowd
favorite on the eve of the pageant finale, topping an online poll
sponsored by the event.
Miss Indonesia Zivanna Letisha Siregar
led the poll in which tens of thousands of observers cast anonymous
votes via the Internet, followed by Miss Brazil, Larissa Costa, and
Miss Guatemala, Lourdes Figueroa.
Contest officials had to
close a comment section of the online poll because more than 50,000
submissions were recorded in the first couple of days.
“It was just so excessive,” said Carl Althoff, a spokesman for the pageant. “We weren’t able to monitor them.”
Zivanna
is the second Indonesian to get through the big 15, after Artika Sari
Devi in 2005. The 56th annual pageant is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.,
Jakarta time.
Protests have surrounded Indonesia’s
participation in the beauty pageant since the country’s first
representative was sent more than a decade ago.
In 1995,
Yayasan Puteri Indonesia (Miss Indonesia Foundation), led by former
Education Minister Wardiman Djojonegoro, sent Shanty Manuhutu to the
international pageant.
However, the Suharto administration
disapproved of the idea and issued a regulation banning all Indonesian
women from enrolling in beauty pageants.
In 2005, seven years
after Suharto resigned and the reform era began, the foundation resumed
sending winners of the Puteri Indonesia pageant amid protests from
several hard-line groups.
The Islam’s Defender Front (FPI)
constantly calls for the government to stop sending Indonesian women to
such pageants, citing the event as inappropriate within Islamic
culture.
This year’s finale is being held in the Bahamas.
Dozens of tourists gathered around the media center at the Atlantis
Hotel on Saturday, trying to get a glimpse of the ballroom where the
event would take place.
Tourism officials in the Bahamas hoped
the pageant will stimulate an economy hard hit by the global economic
crisis: The Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma hotel announced in May that
it would close, and pageant host the Atlantis dismissed about 800
employees this season.
By Saturday night, about 2,700 tickets
for the show were sold of the 3,100 available, said Glenda Johnson of
the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.
NBC will provide live
coverage of the event, featuring musical talents Flo Rida, Heidi
Montag, David Guetta and Kelly Rowland. In Indonesia, the pageant has
been aired on Indosiar every year.
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Valkyrie
7:49 AM August 24, 2009It's obviously a disturbing situation and I hope that our media will not blow this out of proportion and spoil the party. Many of us are anxiously waiting for the final results.
She chose the perfect character to portray in her cultural presentation. She performed the Srikandi (a classical court dance) which represented a personality of a character who defends her nation patriotically. These are qualities which perhaps may go unnoticed by the ignorant.
With so many signs of dysfunction at the top, it's hardly surprising that many Indonesians have a jaundiced view of the contest. It's not only the bikini parade but there are other tested attributes which a contestant must go through.
Let us try focus on the positive aspects should Zivanna succeed in bringing the crown to Indonesia.
For those who oppose, I say this to you.....it's just false modesty on your part. Be truthful and let your conscience be your guide.
Go for it, Zivanna!!!!!