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JAKARTA - THE health of Indonesia's former president Suharto showed further signs of improvement on Tuesday, though doctors warned his condition could deteriorate at any moment.
Mr Suharto, who ruled the world's fourth most populous nation ruthlessly for more than three decades, was hospitalised on Jan 4 and suffered multiple organ failure a week later, plunging into a dangerous state.
He took another turn for the worse on Sunday, but has since astounded doctors by clinging stubbornly to life.
'Many parameters, not all of them, show improvement but it must be remembered that Pak Harto is still being treated in intensive care,' Dr Muhammad Munawar, a cardiology expert treating Mr Suharto, told ElShinta radio.
Pak Harto is how Suharto is referred to with a mixture of affection and respect.
'Anything can happen. What may now seem to be improving can suddenly worsen,' the doctor said.
He said that the 86-year-old patient was under constant watch, was still on dialysis and hooked to a ventilator providing respiratory assistance, and was being kept sedated as doctors struggled to keep his lungs clear of fluid.
'Every minute we must observe developments and frankly, these can go up and down,' he said, adding however that his heart appeared to be improving.
'Hopefully today (Tuesday) things will improve further so that we can take measures towards weaning (Suharto off the equipment)... But for today, it looks like this may not yet take place,' Dr Munawar said.
Mr Suharto stepped down from his dictatorial rule in 1998 amid bloody riots and swelling protests and has since lived largely as a recluse in his family home in an upmarket suburb of the capital Jakarta.
He has been in and out of hospital for various ailments, including at least two strokes, since his enforced retirement.
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