February 1, 2026 | 10:00 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - When he was appointed Head of Civil Service Agency (BKN) on January 7, 2025, Zudan Arif Fakrulloh brought more than a dozen bonsai trees from his home in Bekasi, West Java, to his office in Cililitan, East Jakarta. He trims them himself when he has a spare moment.
For more than 20 years, the former Director-General of Population and Civil Registration at the Home Affairs Ministry has tended bonsai trees and adenium, or desert rose. “Bonsai gives me the freedom to design a tree, it can be made stand upright or leaning,” Zudan said at his office on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
In addition to collecting bonsai trees, the professor of administrative and sociology of law remains active in teaching at several universities. A black belt in karate, he also exercises regularly and often plays badminton with Primary and Secondary Education Minister Abdul Mu’ti.
Speaking to Tempo journalists Friski Riana and Erwan Hermawan, along with photographer Tony Hartawan, Zudan laid out plans to recruit around 200,000 civil servant candidates (CPNS) this year. In an interview lasting more than an hour, the former acting governor in three provinces also explained proposed changes in the revision of the State Civil Apparatus Law (UU ASN).
Zudan also addressed the appointment of active military and police officers to civilian posts, as well as the recruitment of core personnel for the government’s free nutritious meal (MBG) program—heads of the Nutritional Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG), nutritionists, and accountants—as government contract employees (PPPK). The interview continued by phone on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The following are excerpts from the interview.
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