Sabah beauty pageant hit by claims of sexual harassment
A contestant at the recent Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan beauty pageant claims that a member of the organising team had molested her.
KOTA KINABALU: The recently-concluded state-level Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan beauty pageant has been hit by controversy after allegations surfaced that a member of the organising team had molested a contestant.
Social media was awash with negative comments from netizens lambasting the alleged act after a police report purportedly lodged by one of the contestants was posted online.
FMT has reached out to the police for comments.
Unduk Ngadau Borderless Kaamatan 2021 chairperson Joanna Kitingan said she was “saddened” to hear about the allegation.
She said she was also aware the claims had gone viral over social media and would leave it to the authorities to investigate.
“Such things tarnish us as the Unduk Ngadau organisers. All these years we have had good organisation (of the event). It has never happened before and if it really did happen, we would feel very sad, shocked and disappointed,” she told FMT.
“This year has been one of the most challenging times.
“We did our best to take care of the 21 finalists who came for the pageant. We even organised awareness talks on sexual harassment.
“But we don’t know whether the allegations are true, so we will let the police investigate.”
Kitingan, who has been involved in the competition for some 20 years, said the organising committee has reached out to the contestant who lodged the report, her district coordinator and also spoke to the person accused.
The Unduk Ngadau beauty pageant is a highly-anticipated event in Sabah that is organised in conjunction with the state’s annual Kaamatan, or Harvest Festival, which is celebrated throughout May.
The pageant is the search for a Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) beauty queen who mirrors the personality of Huminodun, the symbol of love and sacrifice.
The competition starts at the district level, with winning contestants vying for the Unduk Ngadau title at the state-level event, which culminates on May 31, normally held at the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) hall in Penampang, near here.
The competition was called off last year due to Covid-19 but was back on this year with tighter SOPs, allowing only a restricted number of audience. It was also broadcast online this year, hence the name Unduk Ngadau Borderless Kaamatan.
Social media was awash with negative comments from netizens lambasting the alleged act after a police report purportedly lodged by one of the contestants was posted online.
FMT has reached out to the police for comments.
Unduk Ngadau Borderless Kaamatan 2021 chairperson Joanna Kitingan said she was “saddened” to hear about the allegation.
She said she was also aware the claims had gone viral over social media and would leave it to the authorities to investigate.
“Such things tarnish us as the Unduk Ngadau organisers. All these years we have had good organisation (of the event). It has never happened before and if it really did happen, we would feel very sad, shocked and disappointed,” she told FMT.
“This year has been one of the most challenging times.
“We did our best to take care of the 21 finalists who came for the pageant. We even organised awareness talks on sexual harassment.
“But we don’t know whether the allegations are true, so we will let the police investigate.”
Kitingan, who has been involved in the competition for some 20 years, said the organising committee has reached out to the contestant who lodged the report, her district coordinator and also spoke to the person accused.
The Unduk Ngadau beauty pageant is a highly-anticipated event in Sabah that is organised in conjunction with the state’s annual Kaamatan, or Harvest Festival, which is celebrated throughout May.
The pageant is the search for a Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) beauty queen who mirrors the personality of Huminodun, the symbol of love and sacrifice.
The competition starts at the district level, with winning contestants vying for the Unduk Ngadau title at the state-level event, which culminates on May 31, normally held at the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) hall in Penampang, near here.
The competition was called off last year due to Covid-19 but was back on this year with tighter SOPs, allowing only a restricted number of audience. It was also broadcast online this year, hence the name Unduk Ngadau Borderless Kaamatan.
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