Credits:Inquirer.net
Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto has recently undergone leg surgery but continues to fulfill his official duties as he recovers, according to his spokesman on Tuesday.
Prabowo, currently serving as the defense minister and a former general, had suffered from a limp attributed to years of parachuting accidents. The surgery on his left leg was performed at the National Defence Central Hospital in Jakarta, as confirmed by his team. While specifics of the procedure remain undisclosed, Prabowo described it as “full of risks” in a social media post.
Despite the surgery, Prabowo resumed his responsibilities as defense minister and attended an anniversary celebration for Indonesian police on Monday. “Thank God, he is now very fit. [His leg] has healed and is much better now,” his spokesman, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, told AFP.
Images shared on Instagram on Sunday showed the current president, Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, visiting Prabowo in the hospital. In his caption, Prabowo acknowledged the high risks involved in the medical procedure, stating, “I was aware and understood that the medical procedure I was undergoing was full of risks and my life was at stake.”
Prabowo, who will succeed President Widodo in October, has a controversial history, including allegations of human rights abuses and accusations by rights groups of involvement in the disappearance of democracy activists during the late 1990s under dictator Suharto’s regime. Despite this, Prabowo secured a decisive election victory, promising to continue Jokowi’s popular agenda of strong economic development. His election win was bolstered by his choice of the president’s eldest son, Gibran, as his vice president.