Suharto has multiple organ failure

Doctors say condition of former Indonesian president now “very critical”.

suharto hospital stretcher
Suharto's family have been told he has a 50-50 chance of surivival [Reuters]

Family members who have kept up an almost constant presence at his bedside in Jakarta‘s top hospital have been told to prepare themselves for his death.

 

The Suharto family mausoleum in central Java has been prepared for his burial.

 

On Monday Mahathir Mohamad, the 82-year-old former prime minister of Malaysia, was due to visit the hospital, following a visit on Saturday by another South-East Asian elder statesman, Lee Kwan Yew, the former prime minister of Singapore.

 

Protests

 

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Indonesians reassess Suharto’s legacy

Suharto, a retired five-star general ruled Indonesia for more than three decades but was forced to step down in 1998 amid widespread protests triggered by the Asian financial crisis.

 

Critics say his rule was characterised by harsh repression of any dissent, and blame him for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

 

The former leader, his family and close associates are also accused of siphoning off billions of dollars in government funds during his time in power.

 

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The Suharto family mausoleum in central Java
has been prepared for his burial [Reuters]

But supporters say Suharto presided over a period of rapid development in Indonesia.

 

Recent years have seen several attempts to bring Suharto to trial for corruption, but doctors have said his failing health prevented him from being brought to trial.

 

On Saturday Indonesia‘s attorney-general announced that a pending civil corruption case against him would be settled out of court.

 

But OC Kalgis, Suharto’s lawyer, told Al Jazeera that the former president’s family had rejected the government’s offer.

 

“We have rejected [it] because the state has not managed to give any evidences about its claims in the civil court … we reject absolutely an out of court settlement,” he said.

 

The Suharto family has repeatedly rejected allegations that it is sitting on a fortune of stolen money.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies