Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) — The condition of former Indonesian
President Suharto worsened today as the 86-year-old developed a
blood infection, doctors said.
“The signs of the infection are clearly leading to
sepsis, said Djoko Rahardjo, one of the doctors on Suhartos
team at Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta. Sepsis, or systematic
inflammatory response syndrome, occurs when the body mounts a
strong immune response to bacteria or other toxins and ends up
damaging its own organs.
Suharto was given antibiotics intravenously, Mardjo
Soebiandono, the head of Suhartos medical team, said. The
former leaders condition has been fluctuating since he was
admitted to the hospital 12 days ago.
Indonesias second president was put on respiratory support
on Jan. 11 after some of his vital organs stopped functioning.
Medics spoke with members of Suhartos family on Jan. 13 to
discuss his deteriorating health, Soebiandono said at the time.
The former presidents family authorized doctors to decide
when he should be taken off life support systems.
Suhartos lung infection may have spread, Sutji Mariono,
who is also treating Suharto, said. He remains dependant on a
dialysis machine, which is used to treat patients who have lost
kidney functions, and a ventilator machine, Soebiandono said.
Officials Visit
Suharto, who ruled Southeast Asias biggest nation for 32
years, was forced to resign after student-led protests in May
1998, following the Asian financial crisis that caused a slump
in the countrys economy.
Surin Pitsuwan, the secretary-general of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, visited the ailing dictator today. He
joined a number of former Asian leaders including Singapores
Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysias Mahathir Mohamad who visited Suharto
in the past days to pay their respects.
The former president had corruption charges against him
dropped in 2006 on health grounds. He is fighting civil cases
for alleged misappropriation of funds. The government on Jan. 12
proposed an out-of-court settlement to the civil lawsuits, an
offer Suhartos family rejected.
The former leader is alleged to have taken as much as $35
billion, averaging 1.3 percent a year of Indonesias gross
domestic product, according to the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime. Suhartos lawyer Mohammad Assegaf has said the
UN report is “nonsense.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Karima Anjani in Jakarta at
