Protest Indonesia’s government announced three weeks ago that the finals would be moved from the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta, and instead held on the Hindu-dominated resort island of Bali, where earlier rounds were taking place following protests by Muslim hardliner groups. In a bid to reduce hard-line anger, organizers also took an early decision this year to axe the famed bikinis from the “beach fashion” round, replacing them with Balinese sarongs. But pressure continued to mount, and more mainstream groups joined in and called for the show to be banned. Despite threats from the Islamic Defenders Front to disrupt the pageant, police said no rallies were staged Saturday. The group has demonstrated for weeks, calling for the government to cancel the pageant because members say it shows too much skin and goes against Islamic teachings. Hundreds of police were deployed across Bali for Saturday’s final, which saw contestants clad in stilettos and shimmering gowns take to the stage in the Nusa Dua resort, southern Bali. The contestants were quickly whittled down to six. Then, they faced a question-and-answer round before the winner was announced.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 02:11:41 +0000
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