Soeharto`s death a great loss to Asean

The death of former Indonesian president Soeharto, who is also one of the founders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which consists of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines and Vietnam, is a great loss to the regional grouping.
Expressions of loss came among others from Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar, as AFP quoted him saying on Sunday.
Soeharto (86) passed away on Sunday (Jan 27) at 13:10 local time after suffering from multiple organ failure at the Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta.
The Indonesian second president had undergone intensive medical treatment for 24 days since he was admitted to the hospital on Friday, January 4, 2008, for anemia and severe edema.
Expressing his sadness about Soeharto`s death, Albar said the former Indonesian strong man had contributed a great deal to the economic development of Indonesia, and ASEAN in general.
According to him, Malaysia on Monday will send Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and former Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad and Musa Hitam to concey their last respects and condolences on Soeharto`s death.
Recalling Soeharto`s success to help create political stability in the ASEAN region, Albar said that apart from Indonesia, Malaysia and ASEAN also became a grief-stricken region over the second Indonesian president`s death.
Malaysia and Indonesia enjoyed friendly relations after Soeharto and former Foreign Minister Adam Malik put an end to the confrontation between ...