Soeharto arrives home

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto arrived home visibly happy yesterday from a medical checkup in Germany where doctors found his heart and kidneys are functioning well for his age.

He smiled and waved at the well-wishers, consisting of his relatives and senior military and government officials, as he left the Garuda MSD-11 airliner at Halim Perdana Kusuma airport at 8:05 a.m.

"The President will resume active duty as soon as possible," said Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, who greeted Soeharto at the airport with other top officials, including Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung.

On his arrival at his residence on Jl. Cendana, he knelt down and thanked God for blessing him with good health.

Then a mass prayer was held with close relatives and aides like Army Chief Gen. R. Hartono, Minister of Cooperatives Soebiyakto Tjakrawerdaya and Army Strategic Reserve Commander Lt. Gen. Wiranto.

Doctors at the ultra-modern Heart and Diabetes Centre in the Nord-Rhein Westphalen town of Bad Oeynhausen, said the 75-year- old president's health is not bad, considering his age.

The German doctors also recommended that President Soeharto, who left for Germany on July 7, diet and do more sports to improve his shape.

Djoko Rahardjo and Ari Haryanto, members of Soeharto's medical team who accompanied him to Germany, said the President's health is excellent.

"What the president needs to do is lose weight and lower his cholesterol level," Ari told journalists upon Soeharto's arrival at the airport.

He said that in a routine medical examination on June 29th in Jakarta, Soeharto's heart was enlarged and his kidneys shrunken. This prompted his doctors to seek a second opinion in Germany.

"During the medical check up, it turned out that his heart was normal and his kidneys are also functioning properly," he said.

Djoko Rahardjo said that the medical checkup in Bad Oeynhausen found that Soeharto's kidneys were "superb" for his age.

"The results of the medical examination in Bad Oeynhausen are a lot better that we had expected," he said.

He said that the President Soeharto needs to go on a diet, because he is overweight.

"Doctors in Germany said if the President could lose five kilograms, all his diseases would be gone," Joko said. "His cholesterol level also needs to be reduced. He needs to exercise more."

Soeharto's trip to Germany sparked speculation about his true state of health. It also made the rupiah and the stock markets in Jakarta and Singapore nervous. (pan)