Amy Chew, Banda Aceh – He was convicted of treason and imprisoned at the Keudah Prison in the provincial capital here in 2003.
When the epic tsunami struck on Dec 26, 2004, it swept away the prison walls in a massive torrent and Irwandi suddenly found himself a free man. "The tsunami came, the jail went away and I went home," he laughed.
Today, Irwandi, is a leading candidate in Aceh's landmark polls on Dec 11 to directly elect the province's governor. The elections are part of the historic peace deal signed in August 2005 to end the bloody conflict that has killed 15,000 people.
The peace deal saw GAM surrendering their arms while the Indonesian military halted its operations and withdrew 29,000 troops from the province. The direct elections will accord greater autonomy for this proud province, which the Dutch, Indonesia's former colonial master, could never conquer.
Irwandi draws his popularity from his status as a GAM member and former political prisoner. GAM has officially declared it will not endorse any candidate.
But on Wednesday, a prominent GAM military commander, Sofyan Dawood, showed up at Irwandi's campaign rally here in a move that will boost Irwandi's popularity as GAM still wields considerable influence in Aceh.
The 1,000-strong crowd went wild when Dawood was called to the stage and they surged forward to catch a glimpse of the ex-rebel.
"Irwandi Yusuf is the best person to lead Aceh compared with the rest," said Dawood. "Don't be taken in by people who give you money to buy your votes because when they win, they will turn around and take away money from the people," he said to loud cheers and shouts.
Speaking to former rebels in several regencies and districts, many of them said they would vote for Irwandi Yusuf. Fadli, a former rebel who spent eight years fighting in the jungles, places his trust in Irwandi.
"He cares about Aceh and has a conscience. He is also very smart, a great strategist. He is standing as an independent and that means he is not tied to the interests of political parties but the interests of the people," said Fadli.
Student Rosnita, 21, lost her father when she was 15. She and her six siblings live off their mother's meagre earnings as a washerwoman. She came to the rally with four of her siblings, putting her trust in Irwandi to improve her life.
"Life is very hard. I have only known conflict in Aceh. I choose Irwandi Yusuf because he helped make this peace. Let there be no more gunfire in Aceh," she said.
There are eight pairs of candidates contesting for the posts of governor and deputy governor. The winning pair needs to get more than 25 per cent of the vote.