Religious observance and bureaucratic misconduct of civil servants in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, Indonesia

Islam is the main source of ethical values for Muslim public servants to improve their professional integrity . In theory then religiosity should discourage civil servants from committing sinful acts that will hurt many parties. The question is to what extent has the religiosity of civil servants in Pekanbaru, Riau Province been able to prevent administrative and bureaucratic misconduct. This study was conducted to examine this relationship between religiosity and buraucratic misconduct among public servants in this part of Indonesia. To obtain primary data for the study questionnaires were administered to 250 civil servants of five agencies that provide services directly to the Pekanbaru public. The study found that there was a significant negative relationship between religiosity and bureaucratic misconduct (r=-.379**). The higher the level of the administrators’ religiosity, the lower the level of misconduct in the office. Conversely, the lower the level of the bureaucrats’ religious observance, the higher the level of misconduct in the office. This points to the importance of enhancing religious consciousness among public employees through deliberate programmes for the staff.