December 14, 2025 | 10:21 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Arif Satria’s daily routine changed overnight after he was sworn in as Chief of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) on Monday, November 10, 2025. The former Rector of IPB University said he now sleeps only about three hours a day. “I used to be disciplined about getting six hours,” Arif said in a phone interview on Thursday night, December 4, 2025.
Leaving his home in Bogor, West Java, at dawn, Arif usually returns just before midnight. He begins receiving guests at his office at the the B.J. Habibie Building on Jalan M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta, at 7am each morning. On any given day, up to 10 visitors may come to meet him. That Thursday morning, he hosted the Vice Rector of Kyoto University, who offered a research partnership.
Outside his official duties, Arif remains active in the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI). When he picked up Tempo’s call around 10pm on December 4, he had just landed in Bali to attend ICMI’s National Working Gathering, held from December 5 to 7. He also planned to visit the Bali Botanical Garden to review its facilities.
Tempo interviewed Arif on three occasions: at his office on November 12, 2025, and online on December 3 and 4. He described his plans to strengthen local research culture, as well as BRIN’s role in responding to the Sumatra disaster through the creation of a Disaster Response Task Force.
Speaking with Tempo reporters Novali Panji Nugroho, Dinda Shabrina, Yosea Arga, Friski Riana, Avit Hidayat, Devy Ernis, and Erwan Hermawan, and photographer Tony Hartawan, Arif also discussed his strategy for resolving BRIN’s internal conflicts by year’s end. “I’m confident that within two months, by late December, the issues will be settled,” he said. The following are excerpts of the interview.
What is BRIN’s role in the Disaster Response Task Force?
We have been working since November 27, 2025. As soon as the disaster struck Sumatra, we assisted the BNPB (National Disaster Mitigation Agency) by conducting rapid assessments using both optical and radar satellite imagery. BRIN also collaborated with national and international networks to map the affected areas. We sent the data to the BNPB as official analytical material for policymaking.
Based on satellite images, what caused the disaster in Sumatra?
It’s too early to draw conclusions because the analysis is still underway. What’s clear is that it involved a combination of natural and human factors. It wasn’t a single cause.
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