Soeharto set to leave hospital today
JAKARTA (JP): Doctors who examined President Soeharto at a heart hospital in Germany reaffirmed yesterday that there was nothing wrong with the 75-year-old leader and that he would be discharged on Thursday.
He is in normal health for someone his age and needs no special treatment, Reiner Koerfer, the head of the medical team at the cardiac hospital in Bad Oeynhausen, near Hanover, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
After running a series of tests since Tuesday, Koerfer told the news agency that he found "nothing out of the ordinary which would require special treatment.
"As you know, he is an old man, his health corresponds to what you would expect for someone of that age," he said, adding: "He is healthier than many people think -- I think he is very satisfied."
Koerfer said the important parts of the examination were now complete, although a few minor tests still had to be done over the next day. He added that he had only been asked for a second opinion to back up the results of a check which Indonesian doctors had already carried out.
Soeharto arrived in the German town on Monday for a series of medical checkups. He is accompanied on the trip by several of his children and grandchildren and was joined by State Minister of Research B.J. Habibie, who underwent successful bypass surgery in the same hospital five years ago.
It is not immediately clear when he would head back to Indonesia, but Habibie had earlier said that the President would stay in Germany until Saturday and should be home by Sunday and resume his state duties on Tuesday.
In Jakarta, prices at the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) continued their slow recovery after they took a big tumble last week on rumors about the health of the President. The composite index rose 3.07 to close at 577.96.
"I think foreign investors are net buyers on selected big caps today. But their participation is very limited," a dealer with a foreign-based securities company told The Jakarta Post. "Foreign investors may still be cautious to make big deals," he said.
"The moderate increase is also attributable to local buying on second liners particularly on shares of textile companies," a dealer with PT Peregrine Sewu Securities told the Post.
Commenting on whether the market is going to be stronger today, the dealer who declined to be named, said "the good news about President Soeharto's health is unlikely to trigger an immediate rebound this week to 594 points, the level recorded before the rumor on Soeharto's health came to the market."
The news gave a boost to the shares of Citra Marga, a toll road developer controlled by Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana and Bimantara Citra, a well-diversified conglomerate controlled by Soeharto's second son Bambang Trihatmodjo. Citra Marga rose Rp 125 to Rp 3,500 and Bimantara advanced Rp 25 to Rp 2,650.
Other stocks on the rise were Telkom which rose by Rp 50 to Rp 3,475 rupiah, Indosat Rp 75 to Rp 7,450 and HM Sampoerna Rp 500 to Rp 25,300.
"There was a shift of portfolio from Gudang Garam to HM Sampoerna today," the dealer said.
Gudang Garam fell Rp 150 to close at Rp 9,225 yesterday.
The rupiah performed strongly against the U.S. dollar yesterday.
In Jakarta spot market, dollar was closed at Rp 2,331.50/Rp 2,332.00 yesterday, compared with Rp 2,338.25/Rp 2,339.00 Tuesday. In Singapore, the dollar ended lower against the rupiah at Rp 2,330 from Tuesday's close of Rp 2,338.50. (alo/rid)