Gus Dur, Taufik hospitalized

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.