The winner of the Miss Indonesia beauty contest has pledged to brush up on her Indonesian language skills after raising eyebrows for answering the pageant judges' questions in English.
Kerenina Sunny Halim, a 22-year-old teacher who has an American mother and an Indonesian father, beat 32 other contestants to be crowned Miss Indonesia last week.
Her brother, TV star Yusuf Iman, told reporters that she could not speak Bahasa Indonesia fluently because she was schooled at home and had few chances to practice.
"Weird, how come Miss Indonesia missed Indonesian?" said a blogger named Coro on Kompas.com, the website of one of the country's biggest newspapers.
"This is truly a tasteless joke!" wrote another blogger on the Web site of the Jakarta Post newspaper. "How on earth do the pitiful judges of this laughable beauty pageant justify their foolish decision? Imagine a Chinese beauty contestant who does not speak Chinese... Shame on the judges!"
Halim has promised to improve her Indonesian, saying it was an easy language to learn for those who are willing.
"It's been hard for me to speak Indonesian, because I use English every day," she was quoted by the Jakarta Post newspaper as saying. "But I will learn."
In 2006, the winner of the Indonesian leg of the Miss Universe contest, Nadine Chandrawinata, an Indonesian of German descent, was lambasted by the public and the media after struggling to answer the judges' questions in English.
Liliana Tanoesoedibjo, head of the judges panel, said Halim's English language skills would help Indonesia's chances in the Miss World contest in Johannesberg. "She can speak Indonesian, but has a bit of an American accent. But her Indonesian is good enough," Tanoesoedibjo said.
In the last decade, many Indonesians have been trying to improve their English skills and many English words have seeped into the local language.
Some bloggers expressed sympathy with Halim, saying foreign language skills were key to succeeding in today's world.
"For Bahasa Indonesia you need enough to get by. But these days, you need to be fluent in a foreign language, English at least," Memen Suprietmen said on a posting on Kompas.com.
Her brother, TV star Yusuf Iman, told reporters that she could not speak Bahasa Indonesia fluently because she was schooled at home and had few chances to practice."Weird, how come Miss Indonesia missed Indonesian?" said a blogger named Coro on Kompas.com, the website of one of the country's biggest newspapers.
"This is truly a tasteless joke!" wrote another blogger on the Web site of the Jakarta Post newspaper. "How on earth do the pitiful judges of this laughable beauty pageant justify their foolish decision? Imagine a Chinese beauty contestant who does not speak Chinese... Shame on the judges!"
Halim has promised to improve her Indonesian, saying it was an easy language to learn for those who are willing.
"It's been hard for me to speak Indonesian, because I use English every day," she was quoted by the Jakarta Post newspaper as saying. "But I will learn."
In 2006, the winner of the Indonesian leg of the Miss Universe contest, Nadine Chandrawinata, an Indonesian of German descent, was lambasted by the public and the media after struggling to answer the judges' questions in English.
Liliana Tanoesoedibjo, head of the judges panel, said Halim's English language skills would help Indonesia's chances in the Miss World contest in Johannesberg. "She can speak Indonesian, but has a bit of an American accent. But her Indonesian is good enough," Tanoesoedibjo said.
In the last decade, many Indonesians have been trying to improve their English skills and many English words have seeped into the local language.
Some bloggers expressed sympathy with Halim, saying foreign language skills were key to succeeding in today's world.
"For Bahasa Indonesia you need enough to get by. But these days, you need to be fluent in a foreign language, English at least," Memen Suprietmen said on a posting on Kompas.com.
Various versions of this story, or comments about it, can be found...
here at this news site, [click with your mouse]
What do YOU feel about this? Tell us in the COMMENTS below.
so, she can't even speak Bahasa Indonesia, eh?
ReplyDeleteSo what's the point of being Miss Indonesia? Is she Indonesian?
A foreigner must be able to speak Bahasa Indonesia if he/she want to be Indonesian, right?
She is Indonesian. Bit I don't think she is to "blame" for this. She is just pursuing a career, that's all. The problem is the cultural and racial inferiority complex of the people in Jakarta who own the Miss Indonesia franchise.
ReplyDeleteoh.. my.. god.. what a shame.. what kind of judges are there?
ReplyDelete@ Karenina S. Halim: Go to Wisma Bahasa then, and we'll teach you how to speak in Bahasa Indonesia..