Indonesia’s religious affairs minister has called for the Miss World beauty pageant to be canceled, as opposition in the Muslim-majority country mounts the week before the contest opens in Bali.
Suryadharma Ali said that the organizers should follow the advice of the nation’s top Islamic clerical body, which last week called for the contest to be scrapped even after organizers agreed to axe the bikini round.
“The Indonesian Ulema Council has expressed strong opposition to Miss World because it doesn’t fit with Islamic teachings that say Muslim women should cover immodest parts of their bodies,” the minister said in a statement late on Thursday.
The minister is the first government official to publicly voice opposition to the pageant, dealing a fresh blow to the Britain-based organizers.
His statement came the same day a commissioner from the country’s National Human Rights Commission said he opposed an event that “put women’s bodies on display.”
However, the local organizers were not fazed by the minister’s comments, saying the issue was not his domain and that “the show must go on.”
“This is not an Islamic country and this event is an issue of culture, not religion,” said Adjie Soeratmadjie, corporate secretary of broadcaster and local organizer RCTI, adding that several other ministers supported Miss World.
While Indonesia is a Muslim-majority nation, its constitution is not Islamic and recognizes several religions.
The organizers said in June that the famed bikini round was being axed for the pageant in Indonesia in a bid to avoid causing offence, and contestants would instead wear Balinese sarongs.
Nevertheless, hardline group Islamic Defenders Front has not been appeased and still plans to hold protests on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, where the pageant’s final will be held on Sept. 28.
The competition opens on Sept. 8 in Bali, a Hindu-majority island.
Hardline groups in Indonesia have forced the cancellation of events deemed “un-Islamic” in the past.
Last year pop star Lady Gaga pulled out of the Indonesian leg of her tour after hardliners threatened to burn down the venue and criticized her for wearing only “a bra and panties.”
China’s military news agency yesterday warned that Japanese militarism is infiltrating society through series such as Pokemon and Detective Conan, after recent controversies involving events at sensitive sites. In recent days, anime conventions throughout China have reportedly banned participants from dressing as characters from Pokemon or Detective Conan and prohibited sales of related products. China Military Online yesterday posted an article titled “Their schemes — beware the infiltration of Japanese militarism in culture and sports.” The article referenced recent controversies around the popular anime series Pokemon, Detective Conan and My Hero Academia, saying that “the evil influence of Japanese militarism lives on in
DIPLOMATIC THAW: The Canadian prime minister’s China visit and improved Beijing-Ottawa ties raised lawyer Zhang Dongshuo’s hopes for a positive outcome in the retrial China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian official said on Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing. Schellenberg’s lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo (張東碩), yesterday confirmed China’s Supreme People’s Court struck down the sentence. Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China-Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟). That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians — Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory. In January
A sign hanging from a rusty ice-green shipping container installed by Thai forces on what they say is the border with Cambodia reads: “Cambodian citizens are strictly prohibited from entering this area.” On opposite sides of the makeshift barricade, fronted by coils of barbed wire, Cambodians lamented their lost homes and livelihoods as Thailand’s military showed off its gains. Thai forces took control of several patches of disputed land along the border during fighting last year, which could amount to several square kilometers in total. Cambodian Kim Ren said her house in Chouk Chey used to stand on what is now the Thai
NEW RULES: There would be fewer school days, four-day workweeks, and a reduction in transportation services as the country battles a crisis exacerbated by US pressure The Cuban government on Friday announced emergency measures to address a crippling energy crisis worsened by US sanctions, including the adoption of a four-day work week for state-owned companies and fuel sale restrictions. Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga blamed Washington for the crisis, telling Cuban television the government would “implement a series of decisions, first and foremost to guarantee the vitality of our country and essential services, without giving up on development.” “Fuel will be used to protect essential services for the population and indispensable economic activities,” he said. Among the new measures are the reduction of the working week in
RSS