Yahoo – AFP, 5 June 2013
Miss
Indonesia Ines Putri Tjiptadi parades during the Miss World 2012 final
ceremony
in the inner Mongolian city of Ordos on August 18, 2012.
|
Contestants
at this year's Miss World beauty pageant will not wear bikinis in the parade in
a bid to avoid causing offence in Muslim-majority Indonesia, organisers
confirmed Wednesday.
The 137
women taking part in the September contest will swap bikinis for more
conservative attire, such as traditional sarongs, for the beach fashion
section.
The contest
is being held on the resort island of Bali, where foreign tourists flock in
their millions and the beaches are packed with women sunbathing in skimpy
swimwear.
But Miss
World Organisation chairwoman Julia Morley insisted that none of the pageant's
contestants would wear a bikini.
"I
don't want to upset or get anyone in a situation where we are being
disrespectful," she told AFP from London.
"We
treasure respect for all the countries that take part in the pageant," she
said, adding the final outfits had not yet been finalised.
Organisers
are treading carefully after a number of music acts to recently visit Indonesia
provoked controversy due to performers' outfits.
Last year
pop sensation Lady Gaga was forced to cancel her concert in Indonesia after
Muslim hardliners threatened to burn down the venue and criticised her for only
wearing "a bra and panties".
Singer
Beyonce and band The Pussycat Dolls were also asked to cover up before
performing in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.
The
upcoming Miss World pageant, to be held in Bali and Bogor just outside Jakarta,
has already stirred anger with the country's top Muslim clerical body, the
Indonesian Ulema Council, which has called for its cancellation.
Council
cleric Muhyidin Djunaedi accused the event of "promoting hedonism,
materialism and consumerism", and said contestants were not positive role
models for Muslim youth.
However,
organisers insisted that the decision to axe bikinis was taken when the
agreement was first struck to hold the event in Indonesia and that they had not
changed their plans following complaints.
"We
discussed the beach fashion issue last year with Miss World in London before we
even agreed to host the event because we knew this would be sensitive in
Indonesia," said Nana Putra from media group MNC, the official broadcaster
and local organiser.
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