Speculations rife on Soeharto's health

JAKARTA (JP): Speculation was rife on Tuesday over the health of former president Soeharto after he was rushed to the Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta.

Hospital officials and his family were quick to play down the significance of the visit, stating that the 78-year-old was merely undergoing a routine medical check up.

Virtually all his children were present at the hospital as were some of his grandchildren, further fueling speculation that there was more to his condition than the family was willing to admit.

The former strongman, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for 32 years, was treated at the hospital's Super VVIP room on the sixth floor of the main building.

"It's merely a general check up. Bapak (Soeharto) is not sick," Pertamina Hospital spokesman Syahrir Mohammad told the horde of journalists that gathered there as soon as the news of Soeharto's visit to the hospital broke out.

He said Soeharto was admitted at 11 a.m. and was undergoing a thorough examination of his health.

Juan Felix Tampubolon, the lawyer representing Soeharto and his children in several ongoing corruption investigations, said there was "no problem" with his client.

Tampubolon said that because of his age, Soeharto would probably have to spend two to three days at the hospital.

Syahrir confirmed that the former president would spend the night at the hospital on Tuesday, but added that this was normal because patients might be exhausted after such a check up.

Neurosurgeon Satyanagara, who is also a former head of the hospital, is one of doctors examining Soeharto, he said.

Family members refused to disclose the true nature of Soeharto's health, but unconfirmed reports attributed to sources close to the family suggested that he had slipped in the bathroom at his Jl. Cendana residence after a light stroke.

Soeharto was taken to Pertamina Hospital because the first family was displeased with the treatment given by Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta to his wife, Ibu Tien, on the day she died in 1996.

A source close to the Soehartos said that on Tuesday morning the family had been discussing the collapse of a large tree outside the house of Gen. A.H. Nasution and the fact that many birds had died following the heavy rain in the early morning.

Family members had said that according to Javanese beliefs, this was an omen, the source said.

Some of the family members were seen leaving the hospital early Tuesday evening, but some were expected to return.

"He is in doctors' hands now," grandson Ari Sigit Harjojudanto said as he hurried to his brown Audi sedan.

Another grandson, Dandy Rukmana, refused to talk about Soeharto's condition. "Talk to my parents. I don't know much. All I know is that he's fine," said the son of Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, Soeharto's eldest daughter.

The first visitors outside the family included former vice president Soedharmono, former minister of Justice Ismail Saleh, the education and cultures ministry's Director General of Culture Sri Edi Sedyawati, Golkar official Suhardiman and real estate businessman Enggartiasto Lukito.

Soedharmono said he had talked with Soeharto. "Don't worry, he still can talk ... like saying, 'hello, hello'," Soedharmono said when pressed for comment by reporters.

Former state secretary Moerdiono said: "His condition was stable. Mentally, he is strong. He was still walking around."

"But because of his age, doctors have to be extra cautious," Moerdiono said.

A source close to the Soehartos said President B.J. Habibie had also wanted to visit, but the family rejected the offer.

Bouquets of flowers arrived rapidly for the former tyrant.

Tight security was imposed in and outside the hospital, and the building's main elevators were reserved for the former first family, causing inconvenience to other patients.

"Why the tight security for a former president?" Mukhtar, a resident from Kuningan, South Jakarta, grumbled as he struggled to bring his mother, who was suffering from bronchitis, for treatment on the sixth floor where Soeharto was being treated.

Soeharto became seriously ill from exhaustion in December 1997, and was forced to cancel two planned overseas trips.

In July 1996, he underwent a three-day medical checkup at a cardiac hospital in the German spa town of Bad Oeynhausen.

In August 1994, he underwent a number of medical tests at the Gatot Subroto Hospital, where it was discovered that he had kidney stones.

Each time, doctors pronounced the head of state healthy, but with the qualifying remark, "for his age".

On Dec. 9, 1997, when news of his poor health broke out, the rupiah, at the time already under pressure because of the financial crisis, lost 11 percent in value.

On Tuesday, the news hardly made a dent on the rupiah. Its value rose to Rp 6,710 from Rp 6,659 to the dollar. (asa/emf/prb/emb)