Sjahrir was born in Kudus, Central Java, during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, on February 24, 1945.

Syahrir (nicknamed: Ciil[2] or Ci'il) was born as the only child to Ma’amoen Al Rasyid and Roesma Malik, both from the village of Koto Gedang in West Sumatra.

His involvement at IMADA made him appointed as the head of United Actions of Indonesian Students (Kesatuan Aksi Mahasiswa Indonesia or KAMI).

Sjahrir, who recently graduated as a Bachelor in Economics from the Faculty of Economy, at the University of Indonesia and who was getting ready to leave the country for a master's degree scholarship at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University, was arrested, tried, and sentenced to 6 and a half years of prison for subversion and his involvement in the Malari riots.

Sjahrir’s responsibility as Economic Advisor to the President includes being special envoys to other countries, fulfilling presidential missions.

Sjahrir died on 28 July 2008 at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore from advanced stage of lung cancer.