The health of former Indonesian president Suharto deteriorated today, a day after he was admitted to hospital, and his doctors said he required haemodialysis and improvements to his pacemaker.
Suharto (86), was admitted to Jakarta's Pertamina hospital on Friday suffering from anaemia and low blood pressure.
Suharto waves to journalists after a vote near his Jakarta residence in September 2004. Photo: Reuters/Enny Nuraheni
His kidney function has worsened while there was excess liquid in his lungs, said Mardjo Soebiandono, head of the medical team treating Suharto. "The condition of Mr Suharto has not improved on the second day of hospital treatment," Soebiandono told a news conference.
Suharto underwent haemodialysis to remove some of the excess liquid from his body because his kidney was too weak, Soebiandono told Elshinta radio later in the afternoon.
The doctor also said that Suharto would be fitted with additional electrodes to his pacemaker to maintain an adequate heart rate.
Suharto, who ruled the world's fourth-most populous country with an iron fist for 32 years, stepped down in 1998 amid political upheaval and a crippling economic crisis that triggered widespread opposition to his regime.
He has suffered from various ailments, including intestinal bleeding and strokes, in recent years and been hospitalised on a number of occasions.
Suharto, who came to power after a botched 1965 coup attempt blamed on communists, rarely appears in public. He has lived in seclusion in Jakarta's old money Menteng neighbourhood since he stepped down in 1998.
Last year, the Supreme Court ordered Timemagazine to pay Suharto more than $100 million in damages in a libel suit.
Time, which is challenging the ruling, published a May 1999 cover story that said the former president and his family had amassed a fortune of around $15 billion. The former president and members of his family have denied that.
Suharto was put on trial in the years after he was pushed from power on charges of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars in state money, but the government dropped the case due to his poor health.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Suharto briefly at the hospital, after which he said Suharto was "still in critical" condition. He declined to comment further.