JAKARTA, Jan 27: Indonesia’s former president Suharto, whose legacy of economic development was marred by graft and human rights abuses during his 32 years in power, died on Sunday, aged 86, after suffering multiple organ failure.
“I invite all the people of Indonesia to pray that may the deceased’s good deeds and dedication to the nation be accepted by Allah the almighty. And to the family who are left behind, may Allah give them strength to face this trial,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in a statement. “Mr Suharto has done a great service to the nation.”
Suharto had been in critical condition in hospital since Jan 4. Despite his humiliating overthrow in 1998, many of the region’s leaders and Indonesia’s elite rushed to his bedside to pay their respects as he lay dying.
Singapore’s former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysia’s former leader Mahathir Mohamad flew to Jakarta.—Reuters
