Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A government human rights official has joined Islamic organizations in calling for the Miss World contest scheduled for Indonesia next month to be canceled.
Maneger Nasution, an official at the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), said on Tuesday that the event violated human rights and posed a threat to Indonesian culture.
"For the people of Indonesia, women are mothers, they are the nation's pride. Their beauty is not for show and not to be used in competition," he said, citing a clause in the Constitution stating that freedom is limited by the law, morality and religion to defend his apparent encroachment on liberty. "Our culture is very attached to mannerisms, etiquette and wisdom."
His comments came a day after Surahman Hidayat, a member of House of Representatives Commission X, which oversees education, culture and tourism, said the government should shy away from divisive foreign events and instead focus on developing cultural events that showcase the nation's heritage.
He said hosting Miss World breached the Constitution and Pancasila, the philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state. He said Miss World's tourism benefit was speculative.
"We hope the government, through the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, the Ministry of Education and Culture as well as the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, will be more proactive and creative in developing Indonesia's very own cultural treasures," Surahman said in Jakarta on Monday.
"The government should promote Indonesia's programs overseas instead of adopting foreign cultural values."
Surahman, a member of the Islam-inspired Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said he did not support Indonesia hosting the Miss World event.
"If developing tourism is an objective, I think there are many other activities that are more fitting to Indonesian culture that could be developed and improved," he said.
The Miss World contest has also drawn criticism from the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and more moderate Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
An MUI official said the group opposed the event because exposing a woman's body violated Islamic teachings. He said the decision by organizers to exclude the traditional bikini contest did not overcome the problem as contestants will still be required to wear tight dresses that showed their curves.
The FPI has vowed to disrupt the event, which is scheduled to include a gathering in Bali before the main ceremony on Sept. 28 at West Java's Sentul International Convention Center.
The Miss World contest, which began in 1951, has long been the target of protests.
[Maneger Nasution was one of 13 new National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) commissioners selected by the House of Representatives in October 2012. He was singled out for criticism by human rights groups for his previous (or ongoing depending on reports) membership of Indonesia's ultra-conservative top religious body, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) - JB.]