Syamsuddin Mahmud

After Governor of Aceh Ibrahim Hassan was appointed a minister in Suharto's cabinet, the office of the governor of Aceh became vacant. There were two candidates for this election: Syamsuddin and Usman Hasan, a member of the People's Representative Council.[4]

The competition between the two was described by political observers as a fight between "moths and elephants".[lower-alpha 1] Although Syamsuddin had held a provincial-level office for about a decade, he did not publicly appear very often and was overshadowed by the flamboyant and loud Ibrahim Hassan. Meanwhile, Usman Hasan was the leader of the Golkar party—the ruling party at that time—in the parliament and was described as a "national-level figure" by the Acehnese. Usman was rumored to be supported by the government at that time.[4]

The two candidates were backed by different factions. Syamsuddin was backed by Ibrahim Hassan himself and Minister of Logistics Bustanil Arifin, while Usman was backed by the Central Executive Council of the Golkar party and Minister of Research B. J. Habibie. However, Ibrahim Hassan reportedly later gathered leaders of various groups in the Aceh parliament in the governor's residence and stated that President Suharto had endorsed Syamsuddin for the governor's office. Although Ibrahim Hassan later denied holding such meeting, the Usman faction also claimed that they had been endorsed by Suharto. Eventually, the Golkar and Armed Forces groups, the two largest groups in Aceh's parliament, decided to endorse Syamsuddin.[5]

At the parliamentary gubernatorial election held on 13 May 1993, Syamsuddin won the election with 26 votes. The other candidate, Usman Hasan, obtained 12 votes, while a sham candidate named Malik Ridwan Badai obtained three votes.[5] Syamsuddin was sworn in as governor on 26 May 1993.[6]

At the end of his first term as governor, Syamsuddin sought re-election and was put forward as a candidate for governor. He managed to win the election held in April 1998 with 25 votes, with his main opponent Abdullah Puteh obtaining 17 votes and sham candidate Asnawi Hasjmy 3 votes. However, after three months, Syamsuddin had still not been sworn in for his second term, sparking allegations that President B. J. Habibie—Suharto's successor—intentionally delayed confirming the election results.[7] Syamsuddin was finally sworn in for his second term on 19 June 1998.[8]

After he assumed his second term as Governor of Aceh, Syamsuddin quietly supported the Aceh autonomy movement. In the midst of escalating involvement by the military against the Free Aceh Movement, Syamsuddin requested the president via the minister of home affairs at his inauguration to stop conducting military operations in Aceh, stating that the operations caused "physical and mental torment" to the Acehnese people.[8]

As demands by Aceh people for autonomy increased, Syamsuddin became increasingly open in his support for autonomy. In February 1999, Syamsuddin proposed to transform Aceh into a federated state, which he said would resolve Aceh's problem. His proposal triggered fierce opposition from the central elites, especially Minister of Justice Muladi, who stated that he would try to block Syamsuddin's proposal, which quickly died due to the lack of support from the central government.[2]

On the night of 11 November 1999, Syamsuddin, alongside several of his subordinates, signed a petition which demanded a referendum for the people of Aceh to be conducted under the supervision of the United Nations and a script which demanded its signatories be committed in the struggle for Aceh's autonomy on national and international levels.[2][9]

Several months before his resignation as governor in June 2000, Syamsuddin put forward a bill that would transform Aceh into a federated state similar to a U.S. state. He argued that the bill conformed with the People's Consultative Assembly decision that gave Aceh a special autonomy status.[10]

In June 1998, fifty-four students sued Syamsuddin, his vice governor Zainuddin AG, and regional secretary assistant Razali Yusuf for misappropriating funds from the Human Resource Development (PSDM, Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia) Foundation.[7]

On the day before his inauguration as governor of Aceh for the second term, a group of university students protested in front of Aceh's parliament building and stayed overnight, demanding Syamsuddin resign from the office of governor. According to the group, Syamsuddin lacked the competence to lead Aceh.[8]

Worried that Syamsuddin's stance on autonomy would cause national disintegration, President Abdurrahman Wahid enacted a decree on 7 June 2000 which dismissed him from the office of governor.[10] The decree was enacted in response to a motion of no confidence by the Aceh parliament on 29 April due to Syamsuddin's slow handling of Aceh's problems.[11]

Initially, Syamsuddin was shocked when he received the decree a week later, as he felt that he was not involved in any corruption or criminal case during his seven-year tenure as governor. Syamsuddin later stated that he was "not disappointed with Wahid's decree" and had no plans to sue the president for enacting the decree. After accepting the decree, Syamsuddin handed over his governor's office to the acting governor—previously his second-term vice governor—Ridwan Ramli, on 21 June 2000.[10]

In exchange, Wahid offered him a position as the Deputy Head of the National Development Planning Agency. Syamsuddin refused the offer, citing that he was sixty five years old at the time, while the maximum age to hold the office was sixty years. Syamsuddin stated that he would resume his previous career as a lecturer in the Syiah Kuala University and as an author.[10]