Former Indonesian Finance Minister Did Not Want His Children to Become Civil Servants, Citing Many Temptations

Becoming a civil servant is often regarded as a safe career choice. The relatively stable employment status leads many parents to hope their children will follow that path. However, a different view was once expressed by Mar’ie Muhammad, finance minister during the New Order era. Rather than encouraging his children to become civil servants, Mar’ie asked them to seek work outside the bureaucracy. The message was delivered after his children completed their education. His wife, Etty Muhammad, recalled that her husband even hoped none of his descendants would become civil servants. “He said, ‘Later, when you have graduated, I pray that none of Papa’s descendants become civil servants. I ask you not to become civil servants.’ That was his only request. I heard it in front of me,” his wife Etty Muhammad recalled, as quoted from the autobiography titled Mr. Clean Mar’ie Muhammad (2025). The message naturally made his children wonder, since Mar’ie himself spent most of his career as a state official and was even entrusted with the position of finance minister. One of his children later questioned why his father forbade them from becoming civil servants. “Why, Pa, are we not allowed to become civil servants?” the child asked. Mar’ie did not give a long explanation. He only reminded his child about the various temptations that might be faced when working in a bureaucratic environment. “Never mind, you will not understand the temptations there,” he replied. Mar’ie then suggested that his children consider other fields of work, including starting their own business. “You can work in other areas, for example opening your own business,” Mar’ie said. This attitude was inseparable from Mar’ie’s long experience in government. During the New Order era, corruption and illegal levies were still problems faced by the bureaucracy and public services. A similar experience was also recounted by Mar’ie’s predecessor as finance minister, J.B. Sumarlin. In the autobiography J.B. Sumarlin: Cabe Rawit yang Lahir di Sawah (2012), Sumarlin revealed that illegal levies had taken root in public services. In practice, people who wanted to take care of various needs were often asked to pay money repeatedly. This situation led Sumarlin to conduct surprise inspections at a number of government agencies. He did not only come openly; on several occasions he even went undercover to see conditions on the ground directly. Employees proven to have committed violations or illegal levies also did not escape sanctions. These efforts made Sumarlin known as one of the officials who dared to eradicate corruption and illegal levies within the bureaucracy. His commitment to improving governance also helped him win the Best Finance Minister in Asia award in 1989. Amid a bureaucracy full of temptations, Mar’ie Muhammad chose to give a different message to his family. Although he himself pursued a career as a civil servant until reaching the position of finance minister, Mar’ie hoped his children would build their futures outside the bureaucratic world. For Mar’ie, his long experience in government appeared to be the reason for reminding the next generation to choose career paths that he believed could keep them away from the various temptations in the bureaucratic environment.