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'Walk on foot, don't ride big bikes:' Minister tells tax officials
Speaking in a seminar on Tuesday, Sri Mulyani said that if they wanted to blow off steam, tax officials should opt for jogging rather than riding big bikes.
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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati delivers a speech during the Indonesia Fintech Summit 2021 in Bali, on Dec. 11, 2021. (Courtesy of Kemenkeu/Firman)
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inance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati called on tax officials to lead a modest lifestyle and shun ostentatious displays of wealth as it could lead to erosion of public trust in the tax office.
Speaking in a seminar on Tuesday, Sri Mulyani said that if tax officials wanted to blow off steam, they should opt for jogging rather than riding big bikes.
"Rather than buying a Rp 150 million (US$9,841) motorbike, you can just jog around Senayan [sports complex]. That's healthy. Eating rice porridge, that's also healthy," Sri Mulyani said, apparently taking a swipe at Taxation Director General Suryo Utomo, who is known to be a fan of big bikes.
Earlier on Monday, Sri Mulyani ordered the dissolution of a big bikes club called Belasting Rijder, which counts Suryo as its member.
The senior minister has in the past few days been engaging in a public relations campaign to clamp down on ostentatious displays of wealth among tax office staff, following last week's assault case that led to a revelation of a lavish lifestyle of a Jakarta-based tax official.
