Last night, Maria Harfanti beat 33 other participants to be crowned Miss Indonesia 2015. Representing Yogyakarta, she defeated Yona Miagan (Miss Papua) and Savina Wibowo (Miss Sumatera Selatan), who were also in the top three of the beauty pageant.

The 23-year-old also won the title of “Beauty with a Purpose” thanks in part to her charity work, including a stint teaching underprivileged children in Guizhou, China. 

Maria has also received her masters in management from the University of Indonesia and said she plans to promote Indonesian products and culture throughout the world as the winner of the prestigious competition. 

Profile photo from Maria’s Twitter account @MariaHarfanti

As the winner of Miss Indonesia, Maria will also be representing our country at the Miss World competition in 2015.

There was a bit of controversy regarding last night’s Miss Indonesia competition. Ratna Nurlia Alfiandini, who was representing Aceh, got criticized for not wearing a headscarf. The Acehnese government came out by saying Ratna’s participation had not been approved and that she did not represent the province’s values.  

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