Jakarta, Jan. 28: Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono today led a state funeral procession for former president Soeharto at the Astana Giribangun family cemetery in Karanganyar in the country's Central Java province.

A Jakarta Post report said that Soeharto's body was flown from the Halim Perdanakusumah Air Force Base in East Jakarta to Adisumarmo Air Force Base in Surakarta, Central Java before being carried in a motorcade to the cemetery.

The procession started with Presidential Military Secretary Major General Bambang Sutedjo reading out Soeharto's biography, including the fact that he had been a five-star general who had received 27 decorations both from Indonesian and other countries as well as international organizations.

President Yudhoyono then presented Soeharto with all his contributions to Ibu Pertiwi (the Motherland). Soeharto was buried inside a coffin next to his wife, Tien Soeharto, who died in 1996.

In his speech after the procession, Yudhoyono said Indonesia had lost one of its finest statesmen and true soldiers.

"The deceased has dedicated all of his life to the development of Indonesia," he said.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad expressed his country's indebtedness to Soeharto for his role in ending the Confrontation against Malaysia after he became president.

"We looked up to him as a great leader and as an international statesman. For me, it's quite personal. I knew him and worked with him for a very long time," Mahathir was quoted as saying by The Star on Monday.

"I regarded him as a friend of Malaysia and a personal friend."

He also said that Soeharto had played a major role in the development of Indonesia, which has some 17,000 islands and a population of 200 million.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia was deeply saddened by Soeharto's death.

The Indonesian Government has announced seven days of national mourning for the former president. (ANI)