Amy Chew, Jakarta – Indonesia's day-old government on Wednesday moved swiftly to bring disgraced former president Suharto to justice, highlighting its new clean image and meeting a key demand from reformists who put it in power. But new President Abdurrahman Wahid, whom some worry may be willing to sacrifice reform for political compromise, said he would prefer not to take the ousted autocrat to court.

"The intention is to reopen the case and have it brought to court," newly appointed Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman told foreign businessmen.

"The political will has to be there because of public pressure. Short of that, there will be great scepticism out there and it will only lead to a secondary crisis if the government is not seen to be serious in ending this case," he said.

Darusman said he would also press ahead with an investigation into a scandal surrounding PT Bank Bali Tbk, a key factor in last week's no-confidence vote against then-president B.J. Habibie which forced him to end his bid for reelection.

"It is crucial that these two issues are resolved properly and transparently so that the message is clear ... we will not tolerate any monkey business any more," Darusman said.

The International Monetary Fund, leading a more than $45-billion rescue package for recession-hit Indonesia, last month cut off loans until the Bank Bali scandal was resolved.

A probe into charities linked to Suharto, who resigned in disgrace in May last year, was closed a few days before his successor and mentor Habibie handed over office to Wahid.

Under Suharto's rule, Indonesia was labelled one of the world's most corrupt countries, a stigma it has been unable to shake off as scandals continue to be unearthed.

But many analysts say bringing Suharto – who has always denied wrongdoing – to court could be more trouble than its worth, pointing to the failure of the Philippines to track down much of the money squirreled away during the Marcos regime.

Even some human rights activists say the government would be better investigating Suharto's children and some of his more prominent ministers. They argue that a relentless probe of Suharto, widely admired at home for a lot of his 32-year rule, might be too fraught an experience in a country whose confidence is already shattered by two years of violent crisis.

President Wahid said it would be better if Suharto paid back any money found to have been obtained through corruption and use it to help Indonesia out of its current crisis.

"For me, we investigate. From the result of that investigation, we then decide how much [money] has to be returned by Pak Harto [Suharto] to go towards efforts to improve the economy and overcome the food crisis," he told local editors. "That is better than if we quarrel or go to court," he said, but added it was in the end up to his attorney-general to decide.

The pursuit of the Suharto wealth has been at the forefront of demands by political reform movements. Analysts say it is clear that unless the new government is firm in rooting out graft and pursuing those responsible, foreign and domestic investors will stay away.

New economics tsar Kwik Kian Gie, mindful of the pressure on him to fix Indonesia's appalling finances, pleaded for time to get to grips with the country's economic mess and urged the IMF to resume lending.

"IMF help should be restored, because the routine budget is already [in deficit]," he told reporters. "Give our economic team time to work. We are convinced we can work together." Kwik said he would explain the government's economic policies on Friday after the new cabinet is sworn in.

Market reaction to the new economic team has been mixed and some analysts feared political concerns may have won out over qualifications in appointing the team.

A question mark hung over the new finance minister Bambang Sudibyo, an unknown academic who admitted he needed to study up on some issues.

But to the relief of the markets, Kwik insisted he had no immediate plans to implement a fixed exchange rate system, a proposal he made a few months ago which spooked markets and drew a cold response from the IMF.