[2] In February 2018, he was appointed by the President Joko Widodo as the ambassador to the Philippines, with concurrent accreditation to the Marshall Islands and Palau.

He married Deetje Adeline Laoh Tambuwun on 17 June 1969, and they have 2 sons and three daughters named Ivan, Fabian, Vanda, Eva, and Shinta.

In 1972, he continued his studies at the Institut international d'administration publique, France, and earned the postgraduate degree in territorial administration.

[9] Sarundajang ended his term after he handed over his office to city secretary Lexie Gobel on 10 April 2000.

A year later, Sarundajang became the Inspector General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, replacing Andi Jalal Bachtiar.

[11] His main task as acting governor was to pacify the region, which had been ridden with widespread religious violence between Muslims and Christians.

The next day, Sarundajang began his trip around North Moluccas, where he visited the houses of local community and religious leaders.

In what he called as a show of good deed, Sarundajang drank a glass of water before conversing with the leaders each time he visited a house.

The Moluccan populace was divided on Sarundajang's acting governorship, with Muslims in the region opposing him and Christians supporting him.

He handed over his office to Karel Albert Rahalalu, the elected Christian governor, under dramatically improved social and political conditions.

His campaign team consisted of retired bureaucrats and military officers, including former Governor of North Sulawesi C. J. Rantung.

[12] Sarundajang picked Freddy Harry Sualang, who at that time was PDIP's chairman in North Sulawesi, as his running mate.

The acting mayor of Manado, Abdi Buchari, and Sarundajang's deputy, Freddy Sualang, was convicted of being involved in the corruption.

[26] Sarundajang ran again for the governorship in the 2010 North Sulawesi gubernatorial elections, this time as a candidate from the Democratic Party.

[27] Sarundajang picked Djouhari Kansil as his running mate and he registered to the General Elections Commission on 27 May 2010 an hour before midnight.

Sarundajang stated that he would ensure the representation of the three main ethnic groups in North Sulawesi (Minahasa, Nusa Utara, Totabuan) in his administration.