The Om Telolet Om fever originated among the street children in Solo, Central Java.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian meme "Om Telolet Om" has unexpectedly gone viral on social media, becoming a trending topic on Twitter, as youth trying to get bus drivers to blow their horn, tweeted it recently.
At first glance, even Indonesians might be confused by the meaning of "Om Telolet Om," let alone foreigners.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Om Telolet Om was the top worldwide trending topic on Twitter, having received 715,000 tweets.
As the meme goes international, it continues to confound its foreign audience. International dance-music artists, such as Zedd, Martin Garrix, and DJ Snake, on Tuesday night (Dec 20) tweeted their confusion over the meme.
US DJ Chainsmoker asked on Twitter: "What does om telolet om mean?"
Musician and retired German footballer Michael Ballack also tweeted about the meme: "I keep seeing #omteloletom comments. Can someone explain the #telolet trend? Thats all I find on reviews of simple websites in #indonesia."
Dutch DJ Oliver Heldens also commented on the meme, suggesting it may be about omelets.
"What is Om Telolet Om? When I read it, I think of omelets/eggs," @OlivierHeldens tweeted.
The Om Telolet Om fever originated among the street children in Solo, Central Java. Children from various communities would often stand along streets in Solo and Wonogiri (Central Java), waiting for passing buses.
They would become very happy if the drivers honked their bus horns for them. Some drivers installed additional horns with a melodic "telolet, telolet, telolet" sound.
Thus, the Om Telolet Om phenomenon was born, where children stand on the street shouting "Om Telolet Om" at passing inter-provincial buses, hoping the drivers will toot their buses horns in response, which causes them to cheer.
"Om" means "Sir" or "Uncle," while "telolet" refers to the sound made by the bus horn. So the phrase "Om Telolet Om" literally means "driver, honk, driver."
A video demonstrating this activity went viral on social media a month ago. The children could be seen waving and shouting "Om Telolet Om!" at passing buses, and they would cheer with great gusto when the bus drivers heeded their request.
Initially, it was only seen in Jepara, Central Java, but the fad is now spreading to other regions, including Jakarta, East Java, West Java, and Sumatra.
According to Jakarta Governor Candidate Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok), the Om Telolet Om meme is a sign of good creativity among children. They can do it when buses arrive at bus terminals.
"It is good. This means that children are creative, and during school holidays, they can come to bus terminals to shout om telolet om at arriving buses. I think it is a creative pursuit. Creativity is needed for global competition," Ahok stated at a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday (Dec 23).
However, he suggested that children should not perform the activity on toll roads but only at bus terminals.
Sandiaga Uno, one of the vice governor candidates, pointed out that the meme had the potential to attract foreign tourists to Indonesia as it is being re-tweeted internationally.
"The Om Telolet Om meme is the same as the Mannequin Challenge. They are viral phenomena. Indonesia should take advantage of this to support its tourism industry and attract foreign tourists," he remarked in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday.
Moreover, the government has now set itself a target to attract some 20 million foreign tourist arrivals annually by 2020. Besides being confident that the "Om Telolet Om" meme could benefit the tourism sector, Sandiaga also expressed his admiration for the talent of Indonesian children in attracting the attention of the world with a simple activity.
"This is a very simple phenomenon, but it is very exciting," he said, adding that he had tried it as well on Wednesday night (Dec 21) because he believed politics should also be exciting. In his opinion, politics should not only be marked by trading barbs verbally or through social media but also by enjoying entertaining activities.
Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi called on bus operators to stop tooting their horns for this game.
"We see this phenomenon as something exciting, but it poses several risks. Therefore, we request bus operators not to participate so that accidents can be avoided," the minister declared in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The minister has promised to study the situation to see whether his ministry should ban it in consideration of the safety of other drivers. "We will study it," Minister Budi said.(*)
Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
