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overnment officials assigned to manage quadrillions of rupiah in Southeast Asia’s largest economy should never underestimate their job as their integrity is at stake. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati tried to impart this idea to graduates of the State Accounting Academy (STAN) on Wednesday.

Sri Mulyani, the former managing director of the World Bank, told 3,200 STAN graduates to continue expanding and improving their knowledge and skills even after they joined government institutions and started their careers there.

“I am glad that most of you will join the ranks of the Finance Ministry as I hope you can inject fresh blood and become reformers to improve the ministry,” she said.

Sri Mulyani said STAN graduates should not stop striving for excellence even though they had the “privilege” of having an easy career path as they would automatically be hired as civil servants, a luxury in a country where 7.2
million of its citizens are unemployed, including 944,000 degree holders.

With such a privilege, Sri Mulyani said STAN graduates should prevent themselves from getting involved in misconduct as they would serve as “guardians” of the state’s finances and assets for the next 30 to 40 years.

Sri Mulyani said the graduates should work to maintain their professionalism and integrity as the Finance Ministry was an institution that continuously reformed itself.

The minister also said government officials should adopt the view that they work to serve the interests of the people.

“It’s not an easy task. You are part of an institution in which policies and regulations are made to support the public interest. State finance is owned by the people through tax and taxation, non-tax revenue and state assets,” she said.

She also urged STAN graduates to follow in the footsteps of its alumni who had good reputations at the Finance Ministry and at other state institutions.

On the other hand, she warned graduates against copying the behavior of bad apples among STAN alumni, such as Gayus Tambunan, the convicted former tax officer who is currently serving a 30-year sentence in Sukamiskin prison in Bandung with multiple charges ranging from bribing law enforcers to falsifying passports.

Appointed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during a second Cabinet reshuffle in July, Sri Mulyani earned the reputation as a tough reformist, referred to by some as the “iron lady”, during her years as finance minister from 2005 to 2010, when she helped the nation transition from the 1997 to 1998 Asian financial crisis.

She helped the country sail through the 2008 to 2009 global crisis while applying a tough code of ethics on the tax office during the period.

Her commitment to reform was also reiterated in front of House of Representatives Commission XI overseeing financial affairs. The commission recently approved the Finance Ministry’s budget for 2017 at Rp 40.7 trillion (US$3.13 billion), lower than its proposal of Rp 42.1 trillion.

House Commission XI lowered the ministry’s budget through cuts to unnecessary budget items in several directorates general, including in taxation as well as customs and excise.

Commission XI legislator Muhammad Misbakhun said the lower budget should not affect the ministry’s performance in achieving its targets, including in regards to the ongoing tax amnesty.

“The Finance Ministry is vital, so it should uphold its motivation and loyalty,” he said.

Sri Mulyani said the ministry would always provide rewards for employees who performed well, including tax officials, and punish those who abused their positions in order to gain benefits for themselves.