Mar'ie calls on officials to improve their integrity
Mar'ie calls on officials to improve their integrity
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad reiterated
to ministry officials yesterday that they must improve their
integrity in managing state funds.
Speaking at the commemoration of the country's 50th Finance
Day, the minister said that the ministry's officials should
demonstrate their integrity in all aspects of their jobs.
"Finance officials should base their deeds and conduct on
existing regulations and laws, respecting the public interest and
avoiding practices that could cause losses to society and the
state," the minister said.
Mar'ie said that malfeasance is against all moral and ethical
standards so that anything that causes a loss to the public would
be opposed not only at home but also by "the international
community".
This is not the first time Mar'ie, dubbed by the press as Mr.
Clean, has spoken about ethics and morals. A former director
general of tax and a former chairman of the Association of
Islamic Students, Mar'ie recently stressed the need to add "more
moral value" to the country's development plans.
In his speech yesterday, Mar'ie said that the need to improve
integrity will become ever more important as globalization
permeates more aspects of society in the next decade.
"In the integrated world, anything that is against
international ethics, will quickly become a global issue," he
said, warning that Indonesia, as a developing nation, should
therefore learn how to conduct its affairs according to
internationally-accepted standards.
In the fiscal sector, the minister said that the integrity
should be reflected by the ability to manage the government's
spending according to previously stated plans.
At the commemoration of the Financial Day held in the parking
lot of the Ministry of Finance complex in Central Jakarta, the
minister presented tokens of appreciation to 1,874 active and
retired ministry officials.
Of the recipients, 1,097 received Satyalancana Karya Satya
awards from President Soeharto for their strong dedication and
the other 777 received appreciation awards from the minister of
finance.
The recipients included Secretary-General of the Ministry of
Finance Dono Iskandar, Chairman of the Financial and Monetary
Monitoring Board Marzuki Usman and the president of state-owned
insurance firm PT Jasa Rahardja, Ida Bagus Putu Sarga.
After presenting the awards, the minister signed the first
letter using the 50th Financial Day series.
On Oct. 30, 1946, 50 years ago, the government first
circulated its own bank notes, previously called Oeang Repoeblik
Indonesia (ORI), and now known as the rupiah. The date of the
issuance of the first bank notes is now know as Financial Day.
(hen)