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Jakarta: Former Indonesian President Suharto has said he would donate to the poor the bulk of the more than $100 million (Dh367 million) in damages he has been awarded in a libel suit against Time magazine, a magazine reported.
In a rare interview, the former autocratic leader told Gatra weekly news magazine that he would also donate 35 per cent of the 1 trillion rupiah ($109.9 million) granted to him by the Supreme Court in a September ruling to the state.
Time, owned by Time Warner Inc, published a May 1999 cover story alleging Suharto and his family had amassed a fortune of around $15 billion, including $9 billion in an Austrian bank account.
Time plans to challenge the court's decision.
"I'm becoming rich suddenly," Suharto said in the interview, with a laugh. "I will donate all to the poor." Suharto, 86, said he was not perturbed by accusations of corruption.
"Let them say what they say. The truth is, I did not engage in corruption. And now I have been granted one trillion," he said, referring to the ruling against Time.
Suharto rarely appears in public. He has lived in seclusion in Jakarta's leafy Menteng neighbourhood since he stepped down under pressure in 1998 after more than 30 years of iron-fisted rule.
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