House seeks clarification on President's health

House seeks clarification on President's health

JAKARTA (JP): Amid decreasing confidence in the ailing
government, the House of Representatives held a hearing on
Wednesday with the presidential medical team, the Indonesian
Physician Association (IDI) and four troubled specialists, to
seek a clarification on embattled President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur"
Wahid's state of health.

During the hearing, the presidential medical team, IDI and the
four specialists, who once said that the President was physically
and psychologically unfit to lead the country, presented their
own opinion on the President's state of health to House
Commission VII on population and welfare.

Umar Wahid, chairman of the presidential medical team who is
also the President's brother, confirmed that so far the President
was in good health and he was fit to carry out his daily tasks.

"Good. Good. The President is in good health," he said.

Asked whether the President would be fit to carry out his
tasks until 2004, Umar said: "We could not make a prediction
whether he will be fit until 2004 or 2010. Of the most importance
is that until now, the President is physically and mentally
healthy.

"Are you certain that I will be available for an interview
tomorrow? I don't know whether I will still live after leaving
this room. From a medical point of view, I can't forecast my
future health condition. I won't make a prediction on somebody's
health condition. I'm fresh today but I could be sick tomorrow,"
he said.

He declined to comment on Gus Dur's two strokes in the past,
saying that the public should not continue to argue about them.

"However, it is not unexpected that it has sparked public
concern," he added.

Umar stated that his team's main task was to provide medical
care and service to the President, Vice President and their
relatives and not to make any observations or predictions.

The four specialists defended their recent observation that
the embattled President was no longer fit to carry out his tasks,
saying the observation was based on media reports and not on
medical examinations.

"We are of the opinion that the President's health problem is
so serious that he is not fit to perform his tasks," Suharko
Kasran, a nerve specialist, said.

The other three were Hadi Witarto, a physician, Raman S.
Saman, an oculist, and Suryanto, a psychiatrist.

Suharko declined to talk to reporters and asked them to
interview their lawyers. But the doctors' lawyers were not
available for comment at the hearing.

Comments from the four were given wide coverage in local media
after they met several House factions to present their
observations.

Broto Wasisto, who led the IDI executives during the hearing,
declined to comment on the four specialists' observations. He
said IDi had been invited to give their opinion on the formal
requirements for presidential candidates to the House which was
deliberating the bill on the presidency.

He also declined to comment on whether or not the four
specialists had violated the medical code of ethics in making
their clinical observations.

"Doctors are allowed to make a conclusion from a medical
examination. But, regarding a final decision on the fate of the
President and that of the Vice President, it is in the hands of
the state institution that has elected them," he said.

Achmad Sanoesi Tambunan, who presided over the hearing, called
on all sides to abandon the polemic on the President's state of
health, saying the House would accept the medical opinion
presented by the presidential medical team and IDI, instead of
the four specialists' informal observation.

"Our commission has reached a conclusion from the hearing that
the formal requirements for presidential and vice residential
candidates should be inserted into the bill on the presidency to
ensure that consideration is given to the state of health of our
presidents in the future," he said. (rms)