Former Indonesian president Suharto has regained full consciousness and his breathing has improved to a point where he may be taken off a ventilator, doctors said yesterday.

A medical team has been battling to save the 86-year-old former strongman, who ruled the Southeast Asian nation for more than three decades.

Suharto's condition took a turn for the worse on Tuesday after doctors said he had pneumonia and was developing a blood infection, which could lead to blood poisoning.