Vice President Jusuf Kalla (JK) was conspicuously absent when President Joko Widodo announced the government’s economic stimulus package yesterday evening. It turned out the 73-year-old VP was being treated at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Salemba, Central Jakarta, at the time.
There were reports that JK was admitted to the hospital due to heart disease. But the official word is that JK was treated for exhaustion.
According to JK’s spokesman, Husein Abdullah, his schedule has been extremely full for the past few weeks, during which time he made several regional visits. This may have taken its toll on the VP’s physical condition.
“He disregards everything else when he’s working. At times, we get tired following him around,” Husein said, as quoted by Vivanews yesterday.
Husein added that JK opted to play golf or to socialize in the limited spare time he had recently.
JK was discharged from RSCM early this morning, reportedly looking “fresh and healthy”. He’s been told to rest up at home for now and it’s unclear when he will be allowed to resume his duties as VP.
This isn’t the first time that JK was admitted to the hospital for physical exhaustion. He was also treated for the same reason after the presidential debate during the election season back in June 2014.
