Doctors to be quizzed over report on Gus Dur's health

JAKARTA (JP): National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said on Wednesday that four doctors would soon undergo a preliminary police investigation in respect of their determination that President Abdurrahman Wahid was physically and psychologically unfit to lead the country.

"I have instructed the National Police chief of detectives, Insp. Gen. Engkesman Hillep, to conduct a preliminary investigation into the matter and the doctors concerned," Bimantoro told reporters on Wednesday.

He added that the police needed to ascertain whether the report, which was submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR), could be classified as a criminal act.

"I would like to remind the general public that this is a country that upholds the supremacy of law, not a country where anything goes. The police will investigate this case in accordance with the prevailing laws and regulations," Bimantoro said.

Earlier in the day Bimantoro met the President, who said before thousands of Muslims participating in a mass prayer in Ciawi, West Java on Sunday, that he would allow the law enforcement authorities to prosecute the four doctors.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi identified the four doctors as neurologist Soeharko Kasran, psychiatrist Suryanto, eye specialist Rahman R. Syaman and general practitioner Hadi Witarto.

"The National Police are scheduled to summon the four doctors soon. We need to know how qualified they are as doctors to make the assessment that they made. The police also need to investigate the motives behind the conclusion the doctors arrived at," Didi told reporters on Wednesday.

Didi added that the police would also investigate the validity of the medical reports and documents that lead them to the conclusion that Abdurrahman was physically and psychologically unfit to lead the country.

Abdurrahman, who has impaired vision and previously suffered two strokes, canceled for undisclosed reasons a routine medical examination that was to have been conducted last Saturday. His medical team, however, said that the President was in good shape.

The President also skipped last Friday's prayers at the Baiturrahim Mosque in the grounds of the presidential palace. His absence quickly sparked speculation that he was ill.

Head of the presidential medical team, Umar Wahid, quickly denied the rumors of illness, saying that the President was preparing for the medical checkup which, as it transpired, he later missed on Saturday. (ylt)