JAKARTA – Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto has undergone leg surgery but is continuing to work as he recovers, a spokesman said on July 2. The defence minister and former general, who had suffered for years from a limp attributed to parachuting accidents, underwent surgery on his left leg at the National Defence Central Hospital in Jakarta, his team reported.
Although specifics of the procedure were not disclosed, Prabowo, who is set to succeed President Joko Widodo in October, described the surgery as “full of risks” in a social media post. Despite the surgery, Prabowo has resumed his duties as defence minister and attended an anniversary celebration for Indonesian police on July 1, according to his spokesman Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak.
“Thank God, he is now very fit. (His leg) has healed and is much better now,” said Dahnil.
Pictures shared on June 30 to both men’s official Instagram accounts showed President Widodo, known popularly as Jokowi, visiting a bathrobe-clad Prabowo while he was still in the hospital. “I was aware and understood that the medical procedure I was undergoing was full of risks and my life was at stake,” Prabowo wrote in his accompanying caption.
The former general has faced controversy over past allegations of human rights abuses, with rights groups accusing him of a role in the disappearance of democracy activists during the final years of Suharto’s dictatorship in the late 1990s.
Despite this, the fiery populist secured an easy election win, promising to continue Widodo’s popular agenda of strong economic development and choosing Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran, as his vice-president.