Parents call on Soeharto for help

Parents call on Soeharto for help

BANDUNG (JP): The proud parents of Indonesia's first
quintuplets, born on Monday, have called on President Soeharto to
name their babies.

"I would be very grateful if President Soeharto is willing to
give names for our babies," said father Hastadi Wahyu, a 32-year
old employee of the state-owned Telkom telecommunications
company, here yesterday.

Otherwise, he would name the babies with names whose first
initials are P, A, N, C and A. Panca is an Indonesian word for
"five".

Hastadi admitted that it is a little awkward to call the as
yet unnamed babies "baby I", "baby II" and so on. "Sounds so much
like robots," Hastadi said. "I don't know. I'm still too confused
and too happy."

Twenty-seven-year-old Ellidawati gave birth to the quintuplets
by caesarean section at Borromeus Hospital on Monday.

The babies -- two boys and three girls -- were born in the
31st week of gestation at one-minute intervals during the 45-
minute operation.

Pediatricians Kelly Munazar Surya Chandra and Sandjaja
Soetadji said the babies and their mother were generally in good
condition. The fourth baby, however, has developed a respiratory
problem, common in premature babies, according to Kelly. (17/26)