Robert Go, Jakarta – Former president Suharto's children enjoy a measure of protection from the establishment even today, analysts said after prosecutors pressed for a lighter sentence for murder suspect Tommy Suharto.

Prosecutors yesterday demanded a 15-year jail term, instead of the death penalty for Mr Suharto's youngest son who allegedly ordered the assassination of a Supreme Court judge.

The lenient sentence recommendation, analysts said, shows that the Suhartos still exercise a formidable web of influence that extends through Indonesia's military, judiciary, business community and political elite.

The latest expose on the Suharto family's alleged wrongdoings shed some light on the extent of this influence.

Reports yesterday alleged that Ms Siti Hardiyanti "Tutut" Rukmana – Mr Suharto's eldest daughter – allegedly brokered arms deals for the military and bumped up the prices Indonesia had to pay.

The Jakarta Post said that during the 1990s, Ms Tutut and her siblings made "handsome profits" as the state bought British Hawk jets and Scorpion tanks, and second-hand German battleships.

Such reports on the family's alleged wrongdoings would have been unthinkable during Suharto's 32-year rule, but they now dominate political discussions in Indonesia.

Mr Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said: "Exposures of past crimes, by the Suharto family or others, are necessary if this country wants to reform itself." While it is now acceptable to talk about their misdeeds, it is also clear that the family can still protect its own.

In their recommendation for a light punishment against Tommy, the government's prosecutors argued that although he is guilty of masterminding a murder, owned illegal firearms, and fled from justice for a year, his good manners, his age (40) and his two children necessitated compassion from the court.

University of Indonesia's Mr Arbi Sanit said: "Many prominent figures here feel that they owe the Suhartos. The old man is widely respected, and his kids capitalise on that loyalty for their own protection. Generals owed their careers to Suharto. Businesses couldn't exist without a family member taking a cut. Politicians couldn't stay in power without the father's blessings."

Tommy himself claimed that the police agreed to hide him while he was a fugitive, and that the high-profile manhunt was a sham.

His siblings have been questioned over their past shady business practices, but none has been indicted.

Mr Kusnanto argued the credibility of the current government and the country's reform process are at stake.

He said: "Indonesia needs symbols – to be tried and prosecuted. Tommy and the rest of the Suharto family are one such key symbol. If this government fails to properly and credibly prosecute, it will suffer the consequences.

"At first, maybe foreigners will complain. But later on, the Indonesian people themselves might voice their disappointments. And that could be trouble."