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Thursday July 27, 7:59 PM

Miss Cambodia 2006 pageant going ahead, but without swimsuits

(Kyodo) _ Cambodia will have a Miss Cambodia for the first time in 11 years in 2006, but she won't be wearing a swimsuit.

Sim Sarak, director general of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, told Kyodo News on Thursday the government is allowing a private company to run a Miss Cambodia 2006 contest.

But, to "maintain Cambodia's good tradition" there will be no swimsuit competition for contestants, he added.

There were Miss Cambodia competitions in 1993 and 1995, but no contest has been held since due to budget shortages, Sim Sarak said.

Kem Tola, marketing manager for Planet Communication, the company that will run the 2006 Miss Cambodia pageant, said the competition will begin next month and winners will be announced in October.

Miss Cambodia will be awarded 4,000,000 riel (about $1,000), the runner-up 2,000,000 riel and the second runner-up 1,500,000 riel, he said.

The winner will also represent Cambodia in the 2007 Miss Universe competition.

Sim Sarak said the government will offer technical assistance to the contest.

The lack of a swimsuit competition appears to be a nod to discretion on the part of the organizers because Cambodia is a country proud of its strong cultural and traditional behavior.

And that "tradition" has occasionally led Prime Minister Hun Sen to order bans and crackdowns, often ignored, on sexy performances on TV, advertisements for breast-enhancement treatments, karaoke parlors and, most recently, third-generation cellphones, which some say would allow a flood of pornographic images into the country.

 


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