A national icon then. Someone to admire and applaud.
Well, not exactly. Because this beauty queen is also hated by some small-minded people for her indefensible crime of, er, appearing in the 2005 Miss Universe beauty pageant wearing a swimsuit!
This was the first time in nearly a decade that an Indonesian had appeared in the contest. And it caused a fair amount of controversy, with protests staged by some Indonesian groups.
And this after the poor girl even made the concession not to wear a more revealing bikini.
But as Artika says, the contest is about more than just clothes.
And if it comes downs to brains, there is one thing that is certain: she’s a lot cleverer than the idiots who criticize her!
