Indonesia's ex-dictator Suharto, who has escaped trial on charges of massive graft because he is too ill to follow proceedings, still monitors political developments in the country.

In an interview published by the Tempo weekly, 83-year-old Suharto's former deputy Sudharmono said he regularly visits his old boss, who continues to keep his finger on the pulse of the country's political scene.

"He still follows the developments," Sudharmono said, adding Suharto recently discussed former president Megawati Sukarnoputri and the career of his ex-military chief Wiranto, who was defeated in July presidential polls.

He said Suharto had supported Wiranto's candidacy for the leadership of the powerful Golkar party, once the dictator's political vehicle, which was won on Sunday by current Vice President Yusuf Kalla.

"To my knowledge, he [Suharto] has backed Wiranto since his presidential candidacy this year," Sudharmono, who once also held the top post in Golkar, which was the ruling party during Suharto's three decades in power.

Sudharmono, however, said although Suharto looked physically fit, he had did have trouble communicating. "He has difficulties just uttering three sentences," he said.

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.