On 28 October 1928, a large number of youths gathered in Jakarta to declare the Youth Pledge (Sumpah Pemuda), as follows:
1) We belong to one Nation i.e. the Indonesian Nation
2) We have one Language i.e. the Indonesian Language
3) We have one Country i.e. the Indonesian Country
These Pledges have led the people of Indonesia to declare the independence of our country on 17 August 1945.
Due to the above, I believe that every Indonesian must be able to speak Indonesian Language. And based on this belief, I was very shocked when I read an article in The Jakarta Post titled: Miss Indonesia's first plan is to learn Indonesian. (photo: courtesy of Reuters)
It seemed to me that the council of jury have been " mesmerized " by the fluent English of Miss Indonesia 2009, Kerenina Sunny Halim.
The Indonesian-American woman said that it is very difficult for her to speak Indonesian because most of the time she speaks English. She also said that she doesn't know much about the Indonesian culture. But for participating in this year's Miss World Contest in Johannesburg, South Africa, she will learn the language and culture in 6 months.
Frankly speaking, I believe that the jury's choice of this year's Miss Indonesia is not in line with the spirit of the Youth Pledge. Because, with a population of 230 million people, I am sure that our country has many other woman who are much more beautiful & more Indonesian.
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