PETALING JAYA, May 9 — A beauty queen hopeful of the Sabahan Unduk Ngadau beauty pageant had to bring along her baptism certificate while registering for the competition to prove she is not Muslim.

It was no surprise though for Kota Marudu Unduk Ngadau contestant, Nurul Yanadido, given that some would assume her being Muslim because of her name.

Sabah’s Islamic Administration Enactment and a fatwa issue by the state fatwa committee prohibits Muslim women from taking part in pageants.

Exotic beauty Nurul is the talk of social media for her name, which resulted in many assuming she is Muslim. — Picture courtesy of Facebook/undukngadaukotamarudu

While the topic inspired hot discussion by social media users over the past few days, Nurul’s place in the competition was undoubtedly deserving as many lavished compliments on her beauty, which many say makes her look Middle Eastern.

While she didn’t place in the top three, Nurul, however, can stand proud as she went home last night with a sweep of four subsidiary titles including Miss Natural Beauty, Miss Cahaya Bridal, Miss Popular and Miss La Soul in the event last night.

The search for the Unduk Ngadau beauty queen is an annual event held in May in conjunction with the Kaamatan festival.