From Us Plucked Chickens

The governing ambition for any worthy acronym is first: that it be mellifluous, & second: that it form a clever word in and of itself. Here this is a national sport. Consider these 3, in order of complexity:

Bule Gila, a 'crazy gringo', elegantly shortens to BUGIL, which in general means naked or stripped bare, but specifically means:
“a plucked chicken”.

KAKILIMA. A kakilima is a kind of roadside food cart. The word is a combination of: Kanan Kiri Lintas Manusia, that is: ‘To the right, to the left, people are passing by’. Brought together, kakilima means “Five Feet”—three feet for the cart, two for the vendor. They are also, generally, about five feet long.

SUPERSEMAR is the most clever & complicated of the bunch. Supersemar is the name of a famous historical document. It’s the letter, signed on March 11, 1966, that officially installed Soeharto as the country’s leader, superseding Soekarno—essentially legalizing his coup. A big deal.

Now we all know political figures like to compare themselves to heroic figures from history and myth, & Soeharto was no exception. Soeharto liked to compare himself to Semar, who is a revered character—a kind of holy clown figure, actually—from Javanese folklore. There’s always a wayang puppet of Semar. Still with me?

Okay. The document’s full name is ‘The March 11th Instructional Letter’, or: Surat Perintah Sebelas Maret. SUPER SEMAR. Impressive.