[1] Effendi was elected mayor of the city of Bengkulu in 2002 by the municipal legislature.
In 2004, he was accused of graft (by inflating a housing project's value) and bribery (to municipal councillors during his election).
[2] By late 2004, the case was handed over to prosecutors who commenced an investigation,[3] but an incident saw the home of the chief prosecutor of Bengkulu set on fire by arsonists, and Effendi was made a suspect for masterminding the attack.
[4] Another corruption case occurred between 2005 and 2007 regarding the construction expenses for district and kelurahan offices, which saw several of Effendi's subordinates arrested.
[5] He died in his home village during the campaigning period for the regency election on 28 May 2010 at the age of 66, and was buried in Palembang.