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JAKARTA - The condition of Indonesia's ex-president Suharto worsened on Sunday, two days after he suffered multiple organ failure, and was now "very critical", the doctor leading the team treating him said.
Suharto, 86, was admitted to hospital January 4 with heart, kidney and lung problems and his health fluctuated daily before dramatically worsening Friday, when he was hooked to a ventilator to save his life.
On Saturday he appeared to stabilise and even improve slightly, but Sunday there was another deterioration.
"This morning there was an urgent action to clear the respiratory tract because signs of blockage... were found," Mardjo Soebiandono, the doctor leading the team treating Suharto, told a briefing Sunday.
"The conclusion is that there is a regression in the function of almost all organs and the condition of Haji Muhammad Suharto is very critical."
Asked about the patient's chances of survival, he said: "It is 50-50. We may pray that God fulfills (our wishes) and cures H.M. Suharto."
"We have twice already gathered the family and told them of the worst possibilities. They left it entirely to us and to the Almighty," he added.
Doctors had said earlier Sunday, before the downturn, that they were aiming to gradually reduce his use of the ventilator and said Suharto was being kept under medication to keep him comfortable.
Suharto was forced to step down a decade ago amid violent riots and an economic crisis after ruling the world's fourth-most populous nation for 32 years.
Suharto has never been brought to justice over human rights abuses he is alleged to have overseen during his rule -- particularly in East Timor, Aceh and Papua -- nor faced criminal trial over billions of dollars he is alleged to have siphoned off to family and friends.
Yet many Indonesians remain divided over his legacy, with some looking back to his era as a time when everyday life was easier thanks to subsidised goods.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's spokesman told AFP Sunday that a planned visit by military-ruled Myanmar's prime minister this week had been postponed "because the national mood is not conducive at the moment" for it.
"We will reschedule the visit at a time more convenient to both sides," spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said.
At the Suharto family mausoleum, located outside the ancient Central Java city of Solo, workers scurried over the weekend to spruce up the surrounds in preparation for a possibly imminent burial.
The grave of Suharto's wife, who died in 1996, lies near what has long been designated as the former leader's final resting place.
Spotlights were mounted and identification cards were issued to the media to cover his eventual funeral in the national colours of red and white, reading: "Burial of the Great Commander, retired General HM Suharto." - AFP/ir
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