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.