About

Harimau Lucu ("Cute Tiger") is a nickname given to the statue of a grinning tiger that had been on display at the entrance of a military base located in the small village of Garut, West Java. While the statue was meant to reflect the mascot of the Indonesian military division in garrison, it became a widespread subject of online parodies due to the tiger's cartoon-like appearance in March 2017. Shortly after the tiger statue went viral, it was replaced with another sculpture of a tiger by the Indonesian military.

Origin

The statue of the tiger (shown below, left) was originally erected in 2011 at the entrance of the Indonesian Army's Siliwangi Military Command base in Garut, West Java. On March 11th, 2017, Twitter user Vincent Candra uploaded a photograph of the statue along with the caption "what the hell is this tiger?" (shown below, left). The tweet soon went viral, bringing the little known statue out of its obscurity and into the spotlight of the Indonesian social media, where many joked about its inadequate and even comical portrayal of the Indonesian army division's official mascot (shown below, right).

According to a statement released by the division commander Maj. General Herindra, the tiger was sculpted by a local artist "a long time ago in Cisewu district," though much of the details remain unknown.

Spread

In the following days, the tiger statue became a popular subject of jokes and photoshopped parodies, ultimately giving rise to nicknames like Harimau Humanis^[3] (Tiger Humanist) and Harimau Lucu (Cute Tiger). On March 13th, Indonesian comic illustrator @JukiHoki tweeted several photographs of other awkwardly sculpted tiger statues on display at various military bases across the country, garnering nearly 400 retweets in four days.

Removal of Statue

On March 12th, a reporter for the Indonesian news site Brilio reached out to the Indonesian Army on Twitter for comments regarding the viral popularity of the statue. That same day, an Indonesian Army spokesperson acknowledged by replying that it was indeed funny, though it has been since deleted from the account.^[2] Meanwhile, Colonel Desi ARH of the Siliwangi Military Command released a statement announcing that the tiger statue will be replaced.

On March 13th, the statue was physically removed from the site of display by the Indonesian Army. Later that day, several photographs of Indonesian military personnel demolishing the tiger with chisels were uploaded to Twitter by @flutulangng.^[2]

Online Reaction

Following the removal of the statue, many Indonesians who partook in the joke responded with tongue-in-cheek commentaries and posthumous tributes, while some expressed sadness and guilt for partaking in a joke that ultimately resulted in the disappearance of the tiger. The Facebook page Kementerian Humor Indonesia (Indonesia's Humour Ministry) posted a cartoon in homage to the fallen tiger.^[5]

Search Interest

External References