Saving Private Manohara

The day after tomorrow will mark a year after Jakarta Social Blog first posted an entry about Manohara Odelia Pinot-Noack, daughter of the notorious Daisy Fajarina and George, an man with United States citizenship, and younger sister of Dewi Pinot. Yet in less than a year many outrageous things could happen to one. I recall in April last year, I’ve seen nothing but a few photographs and articles of the then sixteen years old damsel who bears her stepfather’s surname (her mother later married Reiner Pinot-Noack, a french citizen) on the glossy pages of Prestige and Indonesia Tatler, knowing nothing more than her name, age, and previous boyfriend (Mr. You-Know-Who). Never were any photographs and video of Manohara Odelia Pinot shown to the public by numerous television channels in plenty of entertainment and news programs nor pictures and stories of her life leaked and publicized by newspaper and tabloid journalists. Her popularity was then limited to those who reads prestigious high-society magazines and attends glamorous social events where only the rich and famous could mingle, and one can add, those who’ve seen the ads of Le Salon at Plaza Indonesia.

Manohara Odelia Pinot, born on February 28, 1992

What difference a year could make? She broke up with her ex-boyfriend, hastened to marry a prince, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra Ibsni Sultan Ismail Petra Tengku Temenggong Kelantan, with jubilant approval from her mother, and was entitled by the Kelantan Royalty to be Cik Puan Temenggong. The first might sound too good to be true, just like a fairy-tale we used to be read before bedtime by our nanny about a charming little girl getting married to a prince of so-so-land and live happily ever after without any further distractions.

The precocious bride

But life is not a fairy-tale, few months after their seemingly perfect wedding, Cik Puan Temenggong made a not-so-sweet escape to Jakarta, Indonesia, with the help of her mother, Daisy Fajarina. About four months later, from 25th February to 9th March, Cik Puan Temenggong Manohara, Tengku Fakhry, Daisy, and Dewi made a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which ended rather peculiarly. Daisy said the royalty had abducted her daughter away in Saudi Arabia, with Kelantan Royal Family’s Berjaya Air’s Challenger 300, headed by a Malaysian Captain, Zakaria Salleh, transporting only Tengku Fakhry and his wife by force and leaving Daisy and Dewi behind. When Daisy tried to enter Malaysia to track down her daughter, she claimed that she was denied Malaysia entry on the request of the Kelantan Royalty.

Now she’s back to live in Kelantan Palace, like a little bird in a golden cage, while her mother in Jakarta devoured efforts at all lengths to be allowed to meet her own daughter. Daisy uttered profuse and audacious details regarding Manohara’s conjugal circumstances to a bevy of local journalists. She also stated that her daughter had been sexually abused by the coarse-mannered prince, from being forced to do sexual intercourse during her menstruation period to have her chest slitted by razor blade.

Cik Puan Temenggong Manohara with rumored boyfriend, racer Ryan Haryanto

Daisy, Ryan, Manohara, during her short-term escape

Daisy, Manohara, and friends of the family (including Mirza Juneo) frolicking at a party

Sisters Dewi and Manohara Pinot partied alsongside close pals

With Raditya Argoebie, a close friend of Manohara’s family

If such were true, could it be that Tengku Fakhry of Kelantan is indeed a sadomasochist? Some things are too painful to hear. But why does recent photographs of Cik Puan Temenggong Manohara that leaked into some blogs (including those shown below, courtesy of http://toughlane.blogspot.com) show the princess uninjured in the least and unreservedly composed while enjoying both formal and informal activities with her husband and in-laws. Had she been feeling miserable, she would look not the least bit content in the late photographs for surely she knew that’s the most fitting moment to express indications of the necessity of her being rescued by Daisy and Dewi if there’s any.

But Nikolai Gogol once wrote somewhere, “the real comic muse is the one under whose laughing mask tears roll down,” who am I to comprehend the truth of such enigmatic vexation. But one can always reverse the saying above, allow me, “the real comic muse is the one under whose doleful mask laughs furtively.” Then who’s righteous and who’s rancorous?

Everyone know that theirs is a nasty and over-publicized case, but it succeeded in making Manohara Odelia Pinot a princess whose name became a household name in Indonesia and Malaysia, whether by or not by their will.

Time will vindicate the blameless, and we are to sit back and pray for their best solution, not to meddle and ignite furry.

Pictures of Cik Puan Temenggong Manohara post-abduction;

Photos from her personal collection and toughlane.blogspot.com