Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) — The family of former Indonesian
President Suharto has authorized doctors to decide when the 86-
year-old should be taken off life support systems, the head of
his medical team said yesterday.
Suharto was put on respiratory support on Jan. 11 after
vital organs stopped functioning and doctors yesterday gave him
a “50-50 chance of survival.
Medics spoke with members of Suhartos family twice
yesterday to discuss his deteriorating health, Mardjo
Soebiandono said at a news conference in Jakarta. Doctors will
keep trying to save the former president until all his vital
organs fail, Soebiandono added. Suhartos family couldnt
immediately be reached by telephone for comment today.
Suhartos condition has fluctuated since he was admitted to
Jakartas Pertamina Hospital on Jan. 4. Only his brain and
digestive system were functioning normally yesterday,
Soebiandono said.
The former president ruled Indonesia for 32 years and was
forced to quit after student-led protests in May 1998, following
a financial crisis the previous year.
Suharto, who had corruption charges against him dropped in
2006 on health grounds, 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 the
family is considering.
Suharto 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. Mohammad Assegaf, Suhartos lawyer, has said the UN
report is “nonsense.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Aloysius Unditu in Jakarta at
