KUALA LUMPUR : The death of former Indonesian president Suharto was a great loss to the region, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Sunday.

"We are saddened by the demise of Suharto," Syed Hamid told AFP after the Indonesian strongman passed away at the age of 86.

"While at the end of his career many things happened, actually he contributed to the economic development of Indonesia...and to ASEAN overall."

"So it's a great loss to the region as well as to the nation of Indonesia," he added.

Syed Hamid said Malaysia would be represented at the funeral by a high-level delegation including former premier Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will not attend.

Mahathir, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in power, paid an emotional visit to Suharto earlier this month as he fought for his life in hospital.

Mahathir, 82, was a contemporary of Suharto during the Indonesian president's more than three decades of iron-fisted rule and the two have maintained a friendship. - AFP/ch