Jakarta – Former Indonesian president Suharto was a better leader than Mr Abdurrahman Wahid, according to a readers' poll conducted by the Media Indonesia daily.

Mr Suharto outshone his successors, Dr B.J. Habibie and Mr Abdurrahman, according to the poll. The online survey, conducted to mark the third anniversary of Mr Suharto's resignation, showed that many Indonesians still hanker for the Suharto days.

Dr Habibie was judged by the respondents as a better leader than Mr Abdurrahman, whose poor scores "reflected the confusion of the people in taking stock of reforms", the newspaper reported.