indonesian actress

Artika Sari Devi is beautiful and clever. She's also proud of her country and wants to help underprivileged children.

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 Muslim groups.

The Indonesia Ulemas Council even called the contest "pornography."

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!