I can still play golf: Soeharto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (Agencies): A smiling President Soeharto told
\nreporters accompanying him for a stroll through the grounds of
\nthe cardiac hospital in the German town of Bad Oeynhausen
\nyesterday that he can still play golf, his favorite sport.<\/p>\n
\"I can still play 9 holes. My handicap is 12,\" he said,
\nquickly translated into German by State Minister of Research and
\nTechnology B.J Habibie who accompanied the President on his
\nmedical checkup in the town, some 70 kilometer west of Hannover.<\/p>\n
The German press agency DPA quoted cardiac specialist Reiner
\nKoerfer who examined Soeharto yesterday as rejecting speculation
\nthat the statesman might be seriously ill. \"This man is healthier
\nthan many people think,\" Koerfer said.<\/p>\n
Professor Koerfer heads a team of German specialists giving
\nPresident Soeharto a checkup at the cardiac treatment center. The
\nPresident arrived Monday while his check up began yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"The President was being given exactly the same examination as
\nany other patient: ECG (electrocardiogram), laboratory tests and
\nan ultrasonic examination,\" Koerfer said.<\/p>\n
He said Soeharto had sought a cardiac checkup at Bad
\nOeynhausen because his wife had died of heart disease. Siti
\nHartinah Soeharto died in April at the age of 72.<\/p>\n
According to Dr. Koerfer, Bad Oeynhausen is the \"biggest heart
\ncenter in the world\". The spa town has clinics that specialize in
\nrehabilitating people with a history of heart disease.<\/p>\n
Soeharto left Indonesia on Sunday accompanied by four of his
\nchildren, including Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, who told the press
\nthat the President's medical examination would take three to four
\ndays. She also called on Indonesians to pray for her father's
\nhealth.<\/p>\n
Habibie, who is a close adviser to Soeharto, underwent open-
\nheart by-pass surgery in the same German spa town in 1991.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono also stated here in Jakarta
\nthat the medical checkup will last for only three days and that
\nthe team of doctors consists of both German and Indonesian
\ncardiologists.<\/p>\n
One of the Indonesian doctors, Budiman, also said that
\nSoeharto is in good health. \"There's nothing to worry about,\"
\nBudiman said.<\/p>\n
Habibie said that President Soeharto plans to rest until
\nSaturday and will fly home on Sunday. \"By Tuesday next week, he
\nwill have started working again,\" Habibie said.<\/p>\n
\"What the doctors have been doing is giving him a general
\nexamination,\" Habibie said. \"There's no operation as many people
\nthink.\"<\/p>\n
\"For someone his age, it's normal for President Soeharto to
\nhave periodical medical checkups in order to maintain his
\ncondition,\" Habibie said.<\/p>\n
Habibie said that a medical checkup had been conducted by
\nlocal doctors here, but that some further tests abroad were also
\nneeded.<\/p>\n
Siti Hardiyanti told state television station TVRI that the
\nPresident was merely seeking a second opinion.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the number of people who wished the President well
\nwas increasing. Yesterday, ulemas in Aceh called on Moslems in
\nthe province and other regions to say prayers for Soeharto's good
\nalso made the same call yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Harto is our leader. So as Moslems and good citizens, we
\nshould pray together and ask God to grant him health,\" said
\nSofyan Hamzah, the imam of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
This was the second call made by religious leaders. On Monday,
\nleaders of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Moslem organization in East
\nJava had also called on Moslems to pray for Soeharto; so did the
\ninfluential leader of the 30-million member organization,
\nAbdurrahman Wahid. (06)<\/p>",
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