Cak Nur moved to Singapore hospital; Cholil flown home
Cak Nur moved to Singapore hospital; Cholil flown home
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Prominent Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid had a thorough medical
examination at the National University Hospital in Singapore on
Friday after arriving from Guangzhou, China, where he underwent a
liver transplant.
The 65-year-old Paramadina Mulya University rector Nurcholish,
who is popularly called Cak Nur, left the hospital in Guangzhou
on Thursday morning.
"He underwent a thorough checkup this morning. The result of
the checkup has not been revealed," Utomo Dananjaya, one of Cak
Nur's close friends, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He said Cak Nur was accompanied in Singapore by his wife Omi
Komariah, Ibnu Sutanto from the Paramadina Foundation, Taufik
Anwar and Nizar, both from the Association for Rebuilding
Indonesia (PMKI).
Utomo, who just arrived home from Guangzhou, did not explain
how serious Cak Nur's condition was, but called on people to pray
for his recovery.
The Muslim scholar underwent the medical checkup from Friday
morning until 2 p.m. The checkup included a CT scan and
laboratory tests, Utomo said.
Cak Nur and senior journalist Goenawan Mohammad were recently
honored with the Achmad Bakrie Award from the Freedom Institute
for their inclusive, moderate religious thought and literature
respectively.
Each received a trophy and Rp 100 million (US$10,250) in prize
money. However, Cak Nur was unable to attend the ceremony last
Saturday night in Jakarta to accept the award as he was being
treated in Guangzhou.
Also on Friday, 62-year-old Muslim cleric Cholil Bisri, who
has a serious liver ailment, was flown home to Rembang regency by
helicopter from Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma air base at 10
a.m., his eldest son Yahya Staquf told the Post.
He said Cholil insisted on being discharged from the MMC
Hospital in Kuningan, South Jakarta, even though doctors advised
him to stay longer for intensive treatment.
Cholil has a liver ailment and dangerously low blood pressure,
said Yahya, a former presidential spokesman during the
Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid administration.
"My father will still be given an intravenous drip at home and
taken care of by nurses," Yahya added.
Cholil is a deputy speaker of the People's Consultative
Assembly, replacing Matori Abdul Djalil who was appointed the
minister of defense by President Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2001.
Matori was treated in Singapore a few months ago for a stroke.
Cholil, a cofounder of the National Awakening Party (PKB),
fell ill ahead of the April 5 legislative election. Before being
taken to MMC Hospital, he had been treated at Medistra Hospital
in Jakarta.