Former dictator Suharto has made yet another public appearance in good health, prompting renewed calls that he be put on trial for corruption. But his doctors and lawyers still insist he remains irreversibly brain damaged and incapable of normal conversation.
Critics have long suspected that Suharto is faking the extent of his health problems in order to avoid being brought to justice for his past misdeeds.
The retired five-star general, who will turn 85 in June, seemed healthy and cheerful at the Jakarta wedding of one of his grandchildren on Sunday (23/4/06). He also appeared to be in good form at a pre-wedding ritual the previous day.
But Brigadier General Dr Marjo Subiandono, who heads Suharto's team of doctors, on Saturday deemed the former president still unfit to stand trial, claiming permanent brain damage had left him unable to communicate properly. "We are ready to re-examine him, but nothing can be done. He has two permanent cerebral defects," the military doctor was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
He said that although Suharto might be in good physical condition, he could not conduct a "straight logical conversation".
Suharto ruled Indonesia for 32 years before being forced to resign in May 1998 amid deadly riots, pro-democracy protests and economic collapse. His lawyers and doctors have long argued that a series of strokes have left him physically and mentally enfeebled.
Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh on Friday said a team of 20 specially assigned doctors would soon re-examine Suharto to see if his health has improved. "We will ask the team of doctors in charge of diagnosing Suharto's health. In the past, it was stated that it was impossible for Suharto to recover from his illness," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
"The doctors had previously said Suharto was suffering from permanent illness. Perhaps his health condition may have changed now and therefore we have to ask the team of doctors about it," he added.
Wedding party
Suharto on Sunday attended the wedding of his granddaughter Gendis Siti Hatmanti to Arif Putra Wicaksono at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Beautiful Indonesia in Miniature Park) in East Jakarta. The location was significant because the 250-acre park was planned by Suharto's late wife Tien. It opened in 1975 after security forces fired shots at protesters who felt the project was a waste of money.
Gendis is the daughter of Suharto's middle son, tycoon Bambang Trihatmodjo. She and Wicaksono were married at Taman Mini's At-Tin Mosque in a ceremony led by prominent preacher Suryadi Ahmad. Televangelist Quraish Shihab led the assembly in a prayer.
Dressed in a black suit and tie, Suharto arrived at the mosque at 9.40am. Walking with a dark cane, he appeared healthy, animated and in good spirits.
The previous day he had walked unaided in traditional Javanese wedding attire as he doused Gendis with water and flower petals as part of a pre-nuptial ceremony at her Jakarta residence.
It was not clear whether Suharto would also be attending a reception for the couple at the Hotel Grand Hyatt on Monday.
'Waste of money'
Suharto's lawyer Juan Felix Tampubolon on Sunday criticized the attorney general's plan to re-examine the former president's health, saying it would be a waste of money. "Doctors have already concluded that he is incurable. This is permanent. So why do it again?" he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
The lawyer was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the initial wedding reception at Taman Mini's Sasono Langen Budoyo pavilion.
Tampubolon said it was pointless to re-check Suharto's health because doctors would not find any improvement to his "permanent neurological damage".
"If it is repeated, that would be excessive action. It would be of no use. A waste of money, a waste of power, a waste of energy, while there is still much other work to be done." Tutut: Father Healthy Suharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti 'Tutut' Rukmana on Sunday told reporters that her father was physically healthy apart from a swelling on his leg.
She said the family would comply with the Attorney General's Office for a new examination of his health. "Father is healthy," she was quoted as saying by detikcom.
She said Suharto experienced a swelling in his leg on Saturday, so he was unable to wear traditional Javanese attire wedding but instead opted for a suit. "How things are done is all up to the government and the Attorney General's Office. We will obey the regulation," said Tutut. She was reluctant to comment when asked whether she objected to the planned health check. "That's a personal matter," she said.
Wedding guests such as former environment minister Emil Salim said Metro TV presenter Najwa Shihab confirmed Suharto appeared to be in good physical health. "He can walk, but the neurological problem has made speech difficult," said Salim. Shihab said Suharto was sufficiently healthy to be able to sign his name as a witness on the marriage certificate. "He was able to make his signature," she said.
Also attending the wedding was Women's Empowerment Minister Meutia Farida Hatta Swasono. Presumably she didn't ask Suharto about his regime's murder in 1994 of women's labor rights activist Marsinah.
Internal bleeding
Suharto was hospitalized for a week in May 2005 with intestinal bleeding that doctors said affected his brain, heart, lungs and kidneys. Debate raged at that time over whether he should be granted amnesty from possible prosecution for corruption and human rights abuses.
Many of prominent figures who visited Suharto in hospital had said the public should forgive and forget his mistakes, and instead pray for his recovery. Among the fawning visitors were President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Although Suharto's military-backed rule achieved considerable economic advances, such as Indonesia's self sufficiency in rice, it was marred by rampant corruption, brutal repression and human rights abuses.
Authorities in 2000 charged Suharto with embezzling Rp1.4 trillion ($155 million) from seven state charities he controlled while in power. The case was thrown out of South Jakarta District Court after Suharto's lawyers and doctors argued that he was brain-damaged and too physically frail to be put on trial.
Critics claim Suharto's family siphoned off anywhere from $9 billion to $40 billion in state funds. Rights activists say he was also one of the world's most brutal dictators, responsible for massacres that left anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million people dead when he came to power over 1965-67.
The Supreme Court has ruled that Suharto will have to be put on trial "if his health ever improves", but Yudhoyono's administration in February 2005 announced it had decided not to pursue efforts to bring Suharto to court, claiming it was better to concentrate on preventing future corruption cases.
Until his hospitalization last year, Suharto had appeared in good health during his rare public appearances since his resignation. Concerns that he might die prompted calls for Yudhoyono to grant him full legal amnesty and revoke a 1998 regulation that required him to be investigated for corruption, collusion and nepotism.
Although no formal amnesty has been issued, no one is expecting Suharto to ever end up in court or return any of his family's ill-gotten fortune to the state.