Sutarji was born in
Selangor,
Malaysia. His first name Sutarji clearly shows his Javanese descent from Indonesia. In January 1970, at age 19, Sutarji enlisted in the
Royal Malaysian Navy as
sea cadet and went through recruit training at
Royal Military College in
Sungai Besi,
Kuala Lumpur. Sutarji attended the
Cadet Officer with six others from April 1970 at
Britannia Royal Naval College in
Dartmouth,
England in one years. For his first few years, he assumed command of the KD Sri Kedah (1972), KD Sri Perak (1973), KD Duyung (1977), KD Lembing (1979 – 1980). After became a
midshipman in 1971, he attended a diving course at KD Malaya, Woodlands, Singapore from 1973. From 1974, Sutarji attended a Basic Parachuting Course at Special Warfare Training Centre in Sungai Udang, Malacca and then he attended a Basic Jungle Commando Course at Naval Training Command,
Surabaya,
Indonesia in 1975. In 1975, he served at the Naval Headquarters, including 3rd Grade of Staff Members and spent one years in country. During the 1977, he attended a series of training courses in Naval Amphibious School, Coronado, including Riverine Warfare (1977), Explosive Ordnance Disposal (1979), Senior Planning Officer Amphibious (1987), Crisis Management (1993) and Defence Resources Management (2002). He has also attended the counter-terrorism special courses in the
United States Navy SEALs BUD Training Centre (1977),
Royal Navy Special Boat Service (1984) and
Special Air Service in 1984. Sutarji was appointed Commanding Officer of PASKAL from 1984 to 1990 and 1992 to 1994. Afterwards, he spent the rest of his service as Chief Secretary-cum-Assistant Chief of Staff (Admin) in 1996 to 1998. In 1998, he served in Malaysian Armed Forces Headquarters as Director of Malaysian Armed Forces Defence Operations; as Chief Directing Staff of the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College; and subsequently Commandant from 2003 to 2005. In academic terms, he earned his Master of Arts in Policy and Security Studies from the
National University of Malaysia in 1995 and his PhD in Integrated Coastal Zones Management from
University Putra Malaysia in 2003, where he is then attached to the Department of Environmental Management, University Putra Malaysia. His last posting was as founder of
PASKAL formations and first commander of this special force in 1984. He retired from service on 30 November 2005. == Post military life ==