Indonesia's ex-dictator Suharto, who has escaped trial on massive graft charges because he was deemed too ill to follow proceedings, has made a rare public appearance and appeared quite healthy, a local newspaper said.

A smiling Suharto walked unaided some 60 metres to enter a large hall at the 'Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park' to mark its 30th anniversary on Tuesday, the Berita Kota newspaper said.

A photograph showed the 83-year-old former president, wearing a traditional batik shirt and a black Malay cap, walking with a cane followed by his eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, known as Tutut.

The anniversary ceremony featured the unveiling of a statue of Suharto's late wive Siti "Tien" Hartinah, who was behind the park's creation in 1975.

The newspaper said Suharto appeared quite jovial, smiling and laughing repeatedly, and shaking hands with a woman in traditional dress who had sung him a Javanese song.

Suharto, who ruled Indonesia with an iron grip until 1998, escaped trial for suspected corruption on health grounds with lawyers offering medical evidence that he could no longer hold or follow a normal conversation.

The former general has lived quietly at his private residence in central Jakarta since he was forced to resign amid mounting unrest.