Soeharto medical team sick

Soeharto medical team sick

From Meteor

It is interesting to hear President Abdurrahman Wahid raise doubts about the work of the medical team assigned to examine former president Soeharto. I am sure that as the highest government official, Gus Dur, as the President is called, has not spoken nonsense. Despite the medical team's denial that they helped protect Soeharto by deciding Soeharto is not fit to stand trial, I am inclined to agree with Gus Dur's suspicions.

As someone who has kept up with the way the government is run, particularly during the New Order era, I am not surprised to hear Gus Dur's statement about the medical team. It is a public secret that professionals, including lawyers, doctors, police officers and military officers, have often been manipulated. We have often heard retired lawyers lament the decay of Indonesia's legal institutions. Doctors are no exception. Just take the abortion cases which have made headlines across the country. Money is the culprit in all of these cases.

To go back to Soeharto's case, it is very likely that there has been collusion between the medical team and Soeharto's side. Large sums of money must be involved here. This is not an allegation; it is only a suspicion. It is the prevailing circumstances that have made us harbor such suspicions. The conclusion is that it is indeed necessary to set up a more independent and more professional medical team to check Soeharto's health.

AHMAD BADJURI

Bogor, West Java