Among the many achievements are the following;
■ Modernise Indonesia;
■ Strengthen the economy of Indonesia;
■ Develop a friendly foreign policy - under Suharto Indonesia became a stabilising regional force. When Sukarno was in power - he launched an armed "konfrontasi" against Malaysia;
■ Indonesia became the anchor for Asean stability;
■ Indonesia became a rice exporter. Rice is Indonesia's stable diet. Rice surplus is important in providing Indonesia with the safety net;
■ Suharto was responsible for eradicating communist influence. True he was harsh- but in hindsight, you needed harsh policies to deal with the communists;
■ Re-introduced some democratic institutions in Indonesia;
■ A strong supporter of US policies;
■ Welcome foreign investments;
■ Introduced strong measures to contain population control for which he was praised by the international community.
In the process, Suharto became too greedy politically and economically. in power - he overstayed; he did not want to step down and never really groomed any serious contender; he amassed too much power in the Golkar and gave the military too much political power; developed a coterie of cronies; adopted policies which could benefit his family. Suharto was a champion in the art of patron-client politics. In fact, towards the final days of his career - despite the writings on the wall he even appointed his eldest daughter to the cabinet, his closest friend/crony Bob Hassan as Trade Minister. Indeed, almost all he appointed to the Cabinet were his loyal supporters. The rest is history.
