Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew said that he's very sad after paying a visit to Suharto at the hospital.

I feel sad to see a very old friend with whom I had worked closely over the last 30 years, not really getting the honours that he deserves. He deserves recognition for what he did... I'm very sad to see his life come to an end without the full glory that he deserves...

Mr. Lee, your former dictator friend is the luckiest dictator in the world. Although his crimes against humanity can be compared with Adolf Hitler, he isn't dying for taking a suicide. He has never been called for justice on court, or caught like Augusto Pinochet. He also hasn't been exiled like Idi Amin and Ferdinand Marcos.

Although Transparency International has declared Suharto as the number one corrupt leader in the world, his wealth is still secured and untouched. Even more, the wealth is still growing so that in 2007, his son, Bambang Trihatmodjo, was listed as one of the top 40 richest in Indonesia.

Despite all of his corruptions and crimes, his title of "Bapak Pembangunan" (the Father of Development) that the MPR gave him in 1983, has never been annulled. This fact is contrary to what he did to his predecessor, Sukarno, whose title as "Pemimpin Besar Revolusi" (the Great Leader of Revolution) was canceled in 1967.

Lastly, he didn't also pay a visit to Sukarno and AH. Nasution when they were ill. He even kept the dying Sukarno in house arrest and prevented proper medication for him. But, look at what happens with him now; he gets the government's full support for medication and a call from President Yudhoyono to stop discussing Suharto's legal case.

So, Mr. Lee, I don't understand what you mean by 'not getting the honours that he deserves'. What Suharto does not get is justice for all his crimes and corruptions.

UPDATE 16 January 2008:
I'm really happy to see positive responses from Singaporeans about this post. Among others, response from Choo Zheng Xi of theonlinecitizen.com is truly worth your time to read: MM Lee: Lucky Indonesians.

Before Suharto dies then, let me try to set the record straight. Suharto is a corrupt, cruel, murderous albeit economically successful dictator. And watching a senior member of my government’s Cabinet attempting to rewrite history makes me angry.

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