REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said she was monitoring the health condition of former president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie in Germany through his eldest son, Ilham Akbar Habibie who has been in Munchen. Marsudi noted that based on communication with Ilham, it was known that Habibie's condition has been stable.

"Yesterday, I communicated with Ilham," Marsudi said at the office of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) on Tuesday.

The foreign minister remarked that the health condition of the third Indonesian president had been monitored since he was rushed to Starnberg Clinic in Munchen, Germany, on Friday (March 2).

"Since he was admitted, we have monitored his condition through our representatives in Germany. Every day, we communicate directly with the team in Munchen twice a day," she remarked.

Habibie was rushed to the Starnberg Clinic hospital in Germany for a leaky heart valve condition, according to his personal secretary Rubijanto.

"It is true that he was being treated for three days at the Starnberg Clinic. We seek your prayers for Habibie's speedy recovery," Rubijanto noted in Jakarta on Saturday.

Rubijanto explained that the health condition of the former Indonesian president has started deteriorating on Tuesday (Feb 27). At the time, Habibie was experiencing difficulty in breathing and was then immediately examined by a doctor.

The team of doctors diagnosed Habibie with a leaky heart valve, resulting in a fluid buildup of 1.5 liters in the lungs. The doctors have advised him to undergo heart surgery immediately. However, Habibie chose to undergo a medical procedure using more sophisticated methods.

"We appeal to all the people of Indonesia to pray for Habibie's speedy recovery," Rubijanto remarked.

In the meantime, Special Staff of President, Johan Budi, stated that Habibie's request to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) regarding presidential doctors was not excessive.

Earlier, while communicating directly with Jokowi, via telephone on Sunday (March 4), Habibie had asked for a team of presidential doctors and the president's security forces to accompany him for medical treatment in Germany.

"I think the request is not excessive, and he must be accompanied," he noted.

Jokowi granted the request and sent Prof. Dr. Lukman Hakim, SpPD-KKV, SpJP, KGER, a heart and blood vessel specialist of the president's doctor team and the president's security forces to Germany.

The regulation is clearly stated in Law Number 7 of 1978 regarding Financial / Administrative Rights of the President and Vice President and Former President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia.

"There is an obligation towards the health costs of the president, ex-president, vice president, and ex-vice president based on the Act. I do not know how big it is, but the important thing is the president's attention to Habibie, who immediately responded to his illness," he remarked.

Jokowi had also instructed the Secretary of State Minister, Pratikno, to ensure that the government would provide the best services and endure all the costs of the care of Habibie. 

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