Coconuts

Tacky congratulatory posters for gold medalists Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu from Indonesian politicians unleash creative memes

Few, if any, politicians had anything to do with Olympic heroes Greysia Polii (R) and Apriyani Rahayu’s (L) victory in the badminton women’s doubles category yesterday. Yet we wouldn’t know it judging by politicians’ tacky congratulatory posters that relegate the athletes to the background. Background photo from Twitter/@Olympics
Few, if any, politicians had anything to do with Olympic heroes Greysia Polii (R) and Apriyani Rahayu’s (L) victory in the badminton women’s doubles category yesterday. Yet we wouldn’t know it judging by politicians’ tacky congratulatory posters that relegate the athletes to the background. Background photo from Twitter/@Olympics
By Nadia Hamid
Aug 3, 2021 | 4:00pm Jakarta time

Few, if any, politicians had anything to do with Olympic heroes Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu’s victory in the badminton women’s doubles category yesterday. Yet we wouldn’t know it judging by politicians’ tacky congratulatory posters that relegate the athletes to the background.

And aside from celebrating Greysia and Apriyani’s achievement far and wide across the nation, Indonesians are also giggling a little extra online with a slew of new memes inspired by said politicians, who may just be lacking in the self-awareness department.

Also Read ⁠— We’re crying, you’re crying, every Indonesian is crying tears of joy along with Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu

One of the first to publish a poster online was Agus Yudhoyono, the eldest son of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and leader of the Democratic Party. His photo dwarfed that of Greysia and Apriyani in the poster.

Amid the criticism and ridicule towards Agus, one netizen cheekily suggested that he shouldn’t have stopped there.

The thread below has been collecting similarly cringey and amusing posters from various Indonesian politicians and high-ranked officials, which led us to wonder what might have went on in the minds of the graphic designers when they received their brief:

Even Anthony Ginting, who won a bronze medal in the men’s singles category yesterday evening, was a victim of this glory piggybacking by politicians, too.

Naturally, these posters have unleashed the best of Indonesian netizens’ meme-making creativity, who are now creating their own versions of the narcissistic posters.

There’s Twitter-famous cat Bintik, who says she’s proud of Greysia and Apriyani’s achievements in the Olympics.

Doraemon Hari Ini, an account specializing in posting panels from the Indonesian edition of the Doraemon anime and manga series, edited the spoiled rich boy character Suneo Honekawa into the template.

President Joko Widodo’s youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, also posted his own take on the trend.

These were all worthy contenders, but we’re awarding the gold medal in meme-making to the Ministry of Public Works & Housing (Kementerian PUPR) for their pretty immaculate photoshop skills. 

“Is this small enough?” the tweet reads, referring to Minister Basuki Hadimuljono being edited into the photo, making him appear to cheer on Greysia and Apriyani from the stands.

Memes aside, perhaps it’s unsurprising that the congratulatory posters came from politicians in Indonesia, where there exists what we call a strong flower board culture. 

In major personal events, such as weddings and funerals, flower boards are quite prominent at the venues, featuring words of congratulations or commiserations and signed, often in much larger print, by the sender, who is usually a person of great social or political standing. The recipients often gladly display the boards for clout.

Topics: Jakarta, News, Sports, Viral

BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on
Latest
Home
Popular
Latest
Newsletters