Directives of President of the Republic of Indonesia on the Inauguration of Young Civil Service Graduates of the State-run Institute of Public Administration (IPDN) Batch XXVII of 2020, at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province, Wednesday, 29 July 2020

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

Good morning,

Peace and prosperity be upon as all,

Om Swastiastu,

Namo Buddhaya,

Greetings of Virtue.

Honorable Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia,

Honorable Coordinating Ministers, Ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet,

Honorable Chancellor of IPDN, Lecturers, Trainers, and Caregivers,

Honorable Parents of the Young Civil Servants,

And especially, the Young Civil Servants I am proud of,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

On this happy occasion, on my own behalf, on behalf of the people, on behalf of the nation and state, I congratulate you on your inauguration as young civil servants. Congratulations on bearing a new status with all the rights and obligations attached to it

I deeply understand that to be eligible for this inauguration, you have a great deal of struggle. You must pass through a very heavy selection. You must pass through real struggle. Your mental and physical endurance must be very prime. Your nationality and Indonesian identity have been firmly planted and your commitment to serve the community is definite.

But commitment alone is not enough, as young civil servants, you must be the driver of innovation, the motor of bureaucratic reform, the motor of developing new ways of working, the driving force of new governance.

Young Civil Servants, Ladies, and Gentlemen,

I have often stated, I have repeatedly said, we need new ways of working, we need a new culture of working that is more innovative, faster, and dares to take a smart-shortcut. Now and in the future, it is not a big country that beats a small country, it is not a rich country that beats a poor country, but it is the fast one who will defeat the slow ones. The problem of government lies precisely in the fact that there are too many rules that bind itself, too many procedures, too many stages of procedures. Bureaucracy has been trapped by complicated regulations that it created.

Therefore, I sincerely hope that you, young civil servants, will offer different nuances, contribute different thoughts, encourage the bureaucracy to take a smart-shortcut, with an orientation that its result can be instantly felt by the people. Even under normal conditions, our way of working must be results-oriented, fast, efficient, and directly felt by the people. So, in the condition of this health crisis, this pandemic crisis, such methods of working are non-negotiable. I invite you to oversee the change in the new way of working, from the complicated way of working, which is slow, to a fast way of working, from numerous complicated regulations to a few simple regulations, from convoluted SOPs to easy and simple SOPs.

Young Civil Servants, Ladies, and Gentlemen,

You must remember that you are the future of our government,  be it at the central and regional levels, regencies, or at remote villages. And an agent of reform in your respective agencies. It is in your hands that adaptation and reforms lie. It is your heart that will bring us closer to the people and serve them. It is your determination that will reinforce the values of state ideology Pancasila, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).

Today marks the beginning of your devotion to the country, your devotion to the Motherland, and your struggle for the glory of Indonesia. The time has come for you to show your achievements as civil servants to serve the people, to show your integrity and loyalty to the people, the state and the nation, to show your intelligence and agility to face the changing times, to show your ability to provide a sense of justice and prosperity. Becoming a civil servant will create a strong sense of pride, dedication to Pancasila ideology, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, the Constitution, and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, and to an increasingly prosperous and onward Indonesia.

Young Civil Servants,

The honor that you are receiving right now is also the result of many parties’ efforts. Thank your parents for their sacrifice. Thank the lecturers, the trainers, the caregivers for their perseverance and dedication. And be grateful for the stretch of opportunity from Mother Earth and for the support from the state and government.

I wish you best of luck in your duty as Indonesian young civil servants, never stop learning to keep abreast of the times, maintain your integrity as a public servant, keep your dignity as servants of the country and bring Indonesia onward.

Thank you.

Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.

Translated by Fairuzzamani Inayatillah
Reviewed by Mia Medyana B