It's hard to believe that the subject of all this attention was named and shamed by the World Bank and the UN last year, as the world's most corrupt leader. Transparency International estimates Suharto and his family stole $15-35bn of state assets.
He was also the head of the army when it oversaw the destruction of the Communist party, in which more than half a million lives were believed lost. And during his reign as president, secessionists in East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh were brutally repressed.
'Suharto had some mistakes in the past, but that should not prevent us from giving our gratitude,' President Yudhoyono said yesterday. 'President Suharto is a leader of this country and has made some achievements, especially in economic development.'