MikeLigalig.com

Reuters

JAKARTA - Former Indonesian president Suharto, who was rushed to hospital in critical condition last week, deteriorated on Tuesday as doctors tried to avert multiple organ failure, a member of his medical team said.

Another doctor said there was little room for optimism.

Suharto, 86, was admitted to Pertamina Hospital, one of Jakarta's top medical centers, on Friday where a team of 40 doctors is treating him for heart, lung and kidney problems.

"Suharto is in a highly unstable condition and requires intensive monitoring," Mardjo Soebiandono, the head of the medical team treating the former five-star general, told a news conference.

"More fluid infiltrated his lungs and some blood was seen in his feces and urine that prompted his hemoglobin to drop," he said, adding that Suharto had been given a blood transfusion.

Reporters at the hospital saw Suharto being wheeled out of the radiology unit, accompanied by his three daughters, who were crying.

Juniarti Hatta, a cardiovascular expert and a member of the medical team, later told reporters the former president's left heart chamber had swollen to a point that could lead to heart failure.

"The deterioration left us with little optimism," she said, adding that Suharto could be heading for multiple organ failure.

Suharto ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for over three decades until he was ousted in 1998 in the face of a tumultuous pro-democracy movement and economic crisis.

The former strongman, who has been living largely out of the public eye in a family compound in the heart of Jakarta, has suffered from various ailments in recent years, including intestinal bleeding and strokes.

Critics say he and his family amassed billions during his rule, but the former president and members of his family have denied any wrongdoing.

Suharto was previously charged with graft but escaped prosecution when he was deemed too ill to stand trial.

He and his family are still involved in a couple of high-profile court cases.

The sudden deterioration in his health over the weekend prompted some senior politicians and one of Suharto's daughters to call for legal proceedings against him to be dropped.

But the attorney-general said on Monday that his office would press ahead with a civil case against Suharto.