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JAKARTA - AILING former Indonesian president Suharto is covering the costs of his own medical care despite being allotted an allowance by the state for treatment since 2001, a report said on Monday.
Tempo news magazine said that the state set aside 100 million rupiah (S$15,207) per month for Mr Suharto's treatment since he was declared not medically fit to face court proceedings in a corruption trial in 2001.
The idea was that as the state wanted him to appear as a defendant, it should cover the costs of rehabilitating him. The case was finally dropped in 2006, but the state reserved the right to open it again if his health improved.
The government appointed the state-run Cipto Mangunkusumo as the hospital where he could receive treatment - but Mr Suharto has never gone there, with all treatment provided instead at his preferred hospital, Pertamina, Tempo said.
'All invoices for the treatment of Pak Harto are directly paid for by the family,' Pertamina hospital's spokeswoman Ms Titi Wahyuni told the weekly.
All previous stays and treatment at the same hospital, where Mr Suharto has gone repeatedly for various ailments in recent years - including at least two strokes - had also been paid for by his family and not the state, she added.
Tempo reported that the presidential suite where Mr Suharto is being treated costs 2.5 million rupiah (S$380) per day, with his family renting another three adjoining VIP rooms on the same floor.
Mr Suharto was admitted to hospital on Jan 4 with heart, kidney and lung problems and suffered multiple organ failure a week later, sliding into a 'very critical' condition by Sunday.
Doctors said on Monday however that he stabilised and his condition had improved. -- AFP
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