|
KUALA LUMPUR - INDONESIAN president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has cut short a visit to Malaysia and is returning home because of former ruler Suharto's health crisis, an official said Saturday.
'The president had to leave early because of the illness of the former president,' Indonesian embassy spokesman Eka Suripto told reporters.
He said his flight was due to leave Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 0100 GMT (8am).
Mr Suharto, who ruled the nation for more than three decades, suffered multiple organ failure on Friday and is in a critical condition in a Jakarta hospital where he has been put on a ventilator, his doctors said.
However, they said Saturday that the 86-year-old's condition has stabilised and that his vital signs are good.
Mr Yudhoyono's entourage left his hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur in a five-car motorcade accompanied by 10 motorcycle outriders.
He had been due to leave in the afternoon after a three-day trip, but his official programme was mostly completed on Friday and he had only been due to hold a press conference before departing, the spokesman said.
Vice President Yusuf Kalla visited the hospital where Suharto was being treated on Friday evening but later left without comment to media.
According to protocol, with Mr Yudhoyono out of the country, Kalla would be permitted to announce a former president's death in his absence. -- AFP
 |
Is this article useful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 
