Get yourself a guy like Mr. Sarmintul.

Giant billboards depicting a woman appeared in several locations in Yogyakarta earlier this month, bearing the message: “Happy Birthday Mrs. Sarmintul. From your husband, Mr. Sarmintul.”

The 4 by 6 meter billboards were located at three busy intersections in the city: the Rejowinangun, Wirosaban, and Jejeran crossroads.

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Mr. Sarmintul is a chicken noodle stall owner whose real name is Veta Mandra. His chicken noodle stall, Mie Ayam Pak Sarmintul, is a moderately busy enterprise in Bantul, Yogyakarta. He is also the man behind the popular account @InfoMieAyamYK, which is dedicated to providing information about the dish to its fans across the city. Veta’s wife, whose real name is unknown, had a birthday on Nov. 26. The billboards served as a surprise birthday present for her.

Many passersby and online observers said the billboards were a breath of fresh air, as lately such billboards had been widely used for political self-promotion.

The politicians who received the biggest backlash to the widespread appearance of billboards bearing their image are arguably House of Representatives speaker Puan Maharani and Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartanto. The two have had their faces on billboards across the country since early this year, and political forecasters say that they may both run in the 2024 presidential election.

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