The US$1.5 billion civil lawsuit filed by state attorneys against former president Soeharto at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday – more than nine years after his fall – could simply be a political public relations maneuver to assuage the public's frustration over the government's indecisiveness regarding the former dictators's alleged crimes.

Even though prosecutors seem highly satisfied with the quantity of evidence they claim to have proving Soeharto stole Rp 185 billion ($20.1 million) and $420 million from state companies and institutions for his Supersemar Foundation, many in the public remain doubtful the case will stand up in court.

Dachamer Munthe, head of the prosecution team, said Soeharto broke the law because the bulk of the money he raised from state institutions for Supersemar was siphoned off to the businesses of his family members and cronies and did not go toward scholarships for skilled yet poor children, as the foundation's statutes required.

In light of the South Jakarta District Court's dismissal of the government's corruption case against Soeharto in late September, 2000, declaring him medically unfit to stand trial, it is unlikely the state attorneys will stand a chance of winning the current civil lawsuit.

Moreover, it is doubtful as to whether the Attorney General's Office has really been able to collect well-documented and solid legal evidence this time around, more than nine years after Soeharto was ousted from the government on May 21, 1998. Since 2000, Soeharto has successfully evaded prosecution over the course of three different administrations by claiming he was medically unfit for trial.

As per the public's perception of him, Soeharto has always been viewed as one of the most corrupt heads of government in the world, alleged to have stolen billions of dollars from the people during his 32-year authoritarian rule. The Berlin-based Transparency International has estimated he made away with over $30 billion between 1966 and 1998.

But even if the district court allows the civil lawsuit against Soeharto to stand and pleases the public by ruling in favor of the government, the foundation may have nothing left for the state to foreclose on. Nine years has been more than enough for the Soeharto family, their lawyers and crony businessmen to strip the foundation of all its valuable assets.

But again, despite all the odds being against Soeharto being brought to justice, allowing Soeharto and his family to keep the estimated billions they pilfered is certainly politically unacceptable to many people.

This is indeed the dilemma Yudhoyono is facing. This will clearly make or break his government's credibility among the people, who just three years ago so enthusiastically voted him into office in the name of reform.

His success and credibility in fighting corruption would be dealt a severe blow by declaring failure in forcing Soeharto's family to return their alleged ill-gotten gains to state coffers. Amid continued frustration with the slow pace of reform, such a move could mobilize the many well-organized social movements.

Moreover, so long as Soeharto remains alive and under threat of prosecution, those who grew rich with his help and who remain entrenched in government, big business and high society will know their interests are still vulnerable.

After Soeharto underwent extensive colon surgery in May, 2006, the attorney general, apparently afraid he was going to die, seemed ready to drop all charges against Soeharto because of his deteriorating health. The country was also hoping at that time that Yudhoyono, together with the House of Representatives or the People's Consultative Assembly, would move faster and make a political decision on Soeharto.

But true to his style of leadership, Yudhoyono remains indecisive on the Soeharto case, afraid that a pardoning whitewash of his alleged crimes could renew bouts of massive social protests.

So all in all, the civil lawsuit against Soeharto, which could take more than a year to process, can be seen simply as a ploy by Yudhoyono to buy time until the 2009 presidential election. The President is hoping the lawsuit can project him as one that has distanced himself from Soeharto's regime, albeit without doing anything substantial about the former ruler's alleged political and economic crimes.