Minister of Basic and Secondary Education Urges Civil Servants to Work with Integrity as Form of Worship

Jakarta — Indonesia’s Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu’ti, delivered a Ramadhan message to civil servants urging them to perform their duties well as a form of worship and to cultivate integrity.

“They should work with full responsibility, distancing themselves from all matters that contradict the law, particularly avoiding corrupt behaviour and related misconduct,” said the minister in Jakarta on Sunday.

“This becomes part of our efforts to make the work environment and office atmosphere more religious. With hope, this religious atmosphere will have a direct implication on the piety of all education professionals,” he added.

On the same occasion, Islamic scholar Ustaz Abdul Somad (UAS) emphasised that education in Islam is not limited to the classroom or religious knowledge alone, such as monotheism, Qur’anic interpretation, or Islamic creed.

Rather, he continued, Islam encourages its followers to study the vast sciences of the natural universe.

Furthermore, he explained that Ramadhan represents the longest educational period for Muslims.

During fasting, according to UAS, a person is not only taught to endure hunger, but also to manage emotions.

This, he said, aims to develop people who are not only intellectually intelligent, but also emotionally and spiritually intelligent.

“Intelligence in the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual sense—these are the qualities of educated people,” he stated.

UAS also urged that the fruits of educators’ efforts in the past should not be damaged by worldly temptations.

“What has been achieved through education should never be damaged by the creation of ignorance,” he said.