Gus Dur, Taufik hospitalized

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband Taufik Kiemas are undergoing treatment for health problems, after weeks of tiring regional visits and other activities related to the election runoff.

Taufik, a senior member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was admitted to the Harapan Kita cardiac hospital on Tuesday evening and is scheduled to go to a cardiac hospital in Penang, Malaysia on Thursday.

Also on Tuesday evening, Gus Dur was rushed to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta due to an increase in his blood sugar level. Earlier on Tuesday he opened the executive meeting of his National Awakening Party (PKB) to determine its stance in the face of the election runoff.

The two senior politicians were seen traveling a lot in the past weeks and had met with each other on several occasions.

Taufik has been involved in PDI-P's efforts to help Megawati win the September election, where she will face her former chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Taufik was released from Harapan Kita hospital on Wednesday morning, but is scheduled to fly for Malaysia for further treatment.

"He looks better, but he will need further treatment and rest due to his heart condition," one of his aides told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Taufik has had a heart problem for some time and underwent a by-pass operation in Australia in 2000. He has been frequently hospitalized ever since.

Gus Dur has had a stroke twice in the past and his health problems have been compounded by diabetes, with his blood sugar repeatedly rising to dangerous levels.

The former president was transferred on Wednesday to the stroke treatment wing at the RSCM, chief of the team of doctors, Yusuf Misbach said.

"Gus Dur has to undergo a series of tests," Yusuf said.

Another noted figure, Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid, meanwhile is still undergoing intensive treatment in Singapore after a liver transplant in China early in August.