Doctors battled on Monday to save the life of former Indonesian President Suharto, who remains critically ill, while another of Southeast Asia's long-serving leaders visited his bedside.
Mahathir Mohamad, the 82-year-old former prime minister of Malaysia whose time in office overlapped Suharto's, made a short stop at the Jakarta hospital treating Suharto.
Suharto, the 86-year-old former general who ruled Indonesia for more than three decades, is still on a ventilator and doctors said his health had worsened on Sunday morning as fluid in his left lung triggered organ failure.
The head of the medical team told a news conference on Monday he was still concerned about a build-up of fluid and an infection in the lungs, but praised the former strongman ruler's resilience.
"The general condition this morning is improving. His breathing is still assisted and heart functions have also shown some improvement," said Mardjo Soebiandono, adding Suharto had shown some responses, such as opening his eyes and clutching doctors' hands, after the dosage of sedatives was briefly cut.
"He is ex-army, his fighting spirit is extraordinary," Soebiandono told reporters.
He had said on Sunday there was only a 50-50 chance Suharto could survive.
Another doctor, Muhammad Munawar, told the news conference on Monday the situation remained very serious.
"The condition is still critical, it can go up and down," he said.
Hadiarto Mangunnegoro, a lung specialist, said there were dark patches in Suharto's lungs, and he was being given antibiotics in a bid to stem infection.
