Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Suharto may be on the verge of being named a national hero, but a survey released on the 1,000th day since his death suggests that most Indonesians far prefer a messy democracy to life under the repressive New Order regime.

The study by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) found that 70 percent of 2,500 respondents believed democracy was the best system for the country, while almost 60 percent said Suharto's administration was autocratic.

"The people consider Suharto's regime as undemocratic," said Kuskridho Ambardi, the executive director of the institute. "The claim that the people miss Suharto's government goes against, and betrays, the people's real aspirations."

The survey, conducted between Oct. 7 and 20, was done in response to the perception among some people that the country was better off under Suharto, who seized power in the chaos that followed an aborted coup against founding President Sukarno.

While Suharto was a hero for some because of the robust economic growth during his time, the price for relative prosperity was a lack of political liberty, no press freedom, rampant human rights violations and a culture of cronyism that made corruption endemic in the country.

His rule eventually ended as a result of the economic crisis of 1997-98 and anti-Chinese rioting and unrest in Jakarta. He stepped down in May 1998.

All that aside, the Ministry of Social Affairs has included Suharto as one of the 10 people nominated to be a national hero.

On Thursday night, thousands attended a commemoration of the 1,000th day since Suharto's death at the At-Tien Mosque in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, while other ceremonies took place elsewhere in Java as Suharto loyalists gath e red to remember their man.

"The survey provides a scientific conclusion that the people trust democracy, and it shatters these claims that the people are longing for the past," said Bara Hasibuan, a political analyst from the National Mandate Party (PAN), whose founder, Amien Rais, broke ranks with Suharto and became a critic toward the end of the New Order era.

Bara said that for the government to bestow national hero status on Suharto would be insensitive to people who were still suffering from wounds inflicted by his regime.

Rachland Nashidik, an activist-turned-politician from the Democratic Party, said many of the problems facing the country 12 years after the reform movement began had their roots in Suharto's rule.

"Corruption is still rampant, but corruption was a product of the New Order," he said. At least now, he added, people are free to address the issue.

The survey institute's Kuskridho also pointed to the lack of success Suharto's children have had in reviving the family's political legacy.

While some small political parties have considered courting Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra as a leader, the survey found that if a presidential election were held today, only 0.8 percent of the respondents would vote for Tommy. "Tommy's popular, but his electability rate is low," Kuskridho said. "Suharto's political legacy is over."