ho replaced Ismudjoko, revoked the SP3 issued by his predecessor. Suharto was questioned even though the presidential medical team and a team of private doctors said that he had suffered brain damage. At that time, the team from the AGO visited his Cendana residence on eight occasions. Suharto only had two answers for them: he didn’t remember or he didn’t know. Even so, the AGO team still handed this case over to the South Jakarta District Court. Then came the trial date which grabbed the attention of thousands. Suharto, who was asked to be present for the hearing scheduled to be held in the hall of the Department of Agriculture, South Jakarta, did not show, citing ill health. The head of the panel of judges, Lalu Mariyun, ordered that the accused be treated until he can regain his health. The case file sat dormant at the South Jakarta court. In May 2006, Suharto was in critical health and was treated at Pertamina Hospital. On the initiative of the Golkar Party, a number of political figures came up with the idea of a pardon for the man who had ruled Indonesia for 32 years. President Yudhoyono welcomed the idea and ordered the AGO to provide a just solution with legal certainty. Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh—through the South Jakarta District Attorney’s Office—decided to issue a cessation of prosecution (SKP3) order on May 12, 2006. The AGO was unwilling to prosecute Suharto in absentia. “In absentia is done if the accused does not show without a valid reason,” he said. Quite apart from this, the SKP3 was issued for several reasons. In addition to respecting Suharto’s poor health condition, the SKP3 was not an attempt at forgiveness. “The case can be reopened,” Abdul Rahman emphasized. For how long? “Until a new reason is found, for instance a doctor says that Suharto has recovered.”