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Indonesia's former president Suharto languished in a hospital bed Sunday as doctors sought to reduce his dependence on a ventilator machine two days after he suffered multiple organ failure.
The octogenarian ex-dictator was admitted to hospital January 4 with heart, kidney and lung problems and his health fluctuated daily before dramatically worsening Friday, when he was hooked to a ventilator to save his life.
On Saturday, he regained consciousness and slightly improved, while on Sunday, the chief of the team of doctors treating Suharto, Mardjo Soebiandono, told AFP by text message that his condition was stable, with little change.
Ari Haryanto Reksodiputro, another doctor on the team, told ElShinta radio that Suharto's blood pressure was stable and his haemoglobin count -- which needs to improve before doctors can operate to install a new pacemaker, seen key to a recovery -- had been rising.
"This shows that we have been able to extract quite a lot of fluid... What is certain is that (the situation) is better than previously," he said, adding however that overall Suharto's condition was not much changed from Saturday.
"The aim is to gradually reduce the use of the breathing aid apparatus," he said, noting that it was inserted through his throat and he was being kept sedated so he was not uncomfortable.
Suharto's family, who rushed to his bedside Friday evening fearing the worst, were "ready and would accept whatever takes place," the doctor said.
Suharto was forced to ignominiously step down a decade ago amid violent riots and an economic crisis after 32 years of repressive and often brutal rule in the world's fourth most populous nation.
Suharto has never been brought to justice over human rights abuses he is alleged to have overseen during his rule -- particularly in East Timor, Aceh and Papua -- nor faced criminal trial over billions of dollars he is alleged to have siphoned to family and friends.
Yet many Indonesians remain divided over his legacy, with some looking back to his era as a time when every day life was easier thanks to subsidised goods.
Singaporean officials meanwhile at the hospital where Suharto was being treated told AFP that Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew was to visit his long-time friend Suharto later Sunday.
Lee stepped down as prime minister in 1990 after decades in power and currently holds the title of minister mentor in the cabinet headed by his son.
The former Singaporean premier said during the final days of Suharto's rule that it would be best for the country if he stood down, but the two have remained close and Lee has visited the reclusive Suharto at his residence several times in the past decade.
Meanwhile workers at the Suharto family mausoleum, located outside the ancient Central Java city of Solo, scurried over the weekend to spruce up the surrounds in preparation for a possibly imminent burial.
The grave of Suharto's wife, who died in 1996, lies near what has long been designated as the former leader's final resting place.
