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nyone who thinks Indonesian civil servants are lazy, corrupt and waste state money should meet Hendro Wicaksono.

The man has worked as a civil servant for eight years, and proves naysayers totally wrong.

His dedication to the Education and Culture Ministry proves that the government’s spending – at least on him – has not been in vain.

The library science graduate created library management software that has helped the state save millions of rupiah.

Hendro created the program in 2007 to help the ministry’s library, which had acquired a collection from the now-defunct British Council library.

He said the idea to design library software for the ministry came after his team found that the previous program for the inherited collection was frozen.

“It turned out that the license for the software had expired and we needed to pay again to obtain a new serial number,” the man recalled of the incident in 2006.

Hendro took the initiative and asked permission to develop independent library software that would enable the ministry to manage its collection without spending too much money.

Surprisingly, his bosses agreed, even allowing Hendro to use state funds for the research and development.

It was during his 10 months of hard work developing the software that others became aware of what a good civil servant Hendro is.  

Knowing his work on the computer program was funded by the state, the man decided to create the software under an open-source system so every Indonesian citizen could use it for free.

“Because it was initially developed with state money, the software should be able to be downloaded for free,” Hendro said.

Not only that, the man even used his own money to develop the software because the state did not disburse the funds until two years later.

“I only got the money in December of 2009, I remember that was before New Year’s,” the 37-year-old said of the Rp 40 million (US$4,400) payment.

But, he now knows his hard work and sacrifice paid off.

Since the launching of the software, called SLiMS (the Senayan Library Management System), the program has been widely used by almost all institutions — private and state-owned — that have libraries in Indonesia.

And, it doesn’t stop there. SLiMS has also gained an international reputation, as companies and universities in Germany, Spain, Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka have also adopted the system, Hendro told The Jakarta Post.

The man said the software’s open-source system enabled computer developers and programmers from around the globe to continue developing the program to best suit their needs.

The success of SLiMS could have brought the man a new career. But, the winner of the 2009 Indonesia ICT Award in the open-source category was determined to remain a civil servant, a profession that was named the most corrupt career in 2011 by an Indonesia Corruption Watch report.

“This is the place where I study, If I leave this place I will lose the access [to learn],” he said.

Hendro also refused a promotion at work, saying such an achievement would put him in a position prone to corruption.

The man said the temptations in relation to corruption for civil servants, especially at the top levels, were high.

So Hendro has chosen to be a regular staff member and does side jobs that offer him and his family additional income.

“The most important thing is I get all my office work done so I have plenty of time to do other things,” said the man, who also lectures and offers trainings on SLiMS outside the office.

Hendro’s stand against corruption seems to stem from his religious beliefs.

He believes that wrongdoing will not bring blessings in one’s life. That has led the father of three to make sure that his job is clean and he abides by God’s rules.

But, it turns out the man never even planned to become a civil servant.

“It was by accident,” he said, grinning.

Hendro told the Post he used to work for the British Council library, but when it closed he decided to migrate to the ministry along with all the books donated by the Britain institution to the ministry.

“It was hard to find work at the time and there was an opening in the ministry for librarian staff, I applied for it and I got the job,” the University of Indonesia graduate said.

As a librarian, Hendro said he had always dealt with the implementation of technology in library management, a coincidence that spurred him to learn more about software and computer programming.

But, from all his expertise as a librarian, a software programmer, an IT trainer and a civil servant, he prefers to be called a librarian.

His next goal is to continue developing SLiMS so that more people and communities know about it and can use it.

The man also plans to get a master’s in library science in order to pursue his next personal ambition — to become a university lecturer. Hendro said he might give up his position as a civil servant for a future in the education sector.

He wants to become a lecturer because he believes the career will fulfill not only his family’s needs but also his own needs as a life-long learner.

If that is the case, it will mean a loss for the Education and Culture Ministry. In fact, it will be not only the ministry’s loss, but the country’s as well.

The man offered a brief response.

“There is not only me. There are still plenty of good civil servants out there,” he said.