Jakarta – Indonesia's lower house has backed President Abdurrahman Wahid's vow to pardon former strongman Suharto but only after he has been tried by a court for allegations of graft, a report said Monday.

Former president Suharto "could be given clemency only after undergoing trial," said Hartono Marjono, deputy chairman of the commission dealing with law and internal affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR), quoted by the official Antara news agency.

"The term pardon as meant by President Abdurrahman Wahid is called clemency in law ... so there should be a trial beforehand," Marjono said.

Wahid said in Washington 10 days ago that "once he [Suharto] is found guilty in a court, then we will pardon him, because he was our president."

"But not the rest of his family," Wahid said of Suharto's relatives. "This is very important. Not the family and not the cronies." Marjono said however that Wahid should first consult with parliament before conferring any clemency on Suharto.

Wahid's administration has reopened a graft investigation into Suharto's 32-year rule that ended in May 1998. Wahid, who left on a planned visit to the Middle East on Monday, has also said he would pardon his predecessor B.J. Habibie should he be convicted of any crime.

Wahid said he believes Suharto stashed huge amounts of money abroad under the names of his children and his friends during his iron-fisted rule. "He is richer than the state even," Wahid said.

Wahid suggested that although pardoning Suharto would draw international criticism, it was a necessary move to calm Suharto's powerful allies within the Indonesia's military.

"The idea of the supremacy of the civilians – this is very important," Wahid said in unexpectedly candid remarks. "But please remember, we are in a difficult position."

Suharto, reportedly now in poor health, has sued the US magazine Time for 40,000 dollars in material compensation and 27 billion dollars in damages for a report which alleged the Suharto family was sitting on a fortune of some 15 billion dollars.

It also alleged Suharto had transfered some nine billion dollars from Switzerland to banks in Austria shortly after he resigned. The court case against Time is due to resume here Tuesday.