
However, Faizasyah declined to go into details about the former top diplomat's illness. He added that preparations are underway to fly Alatas' body to Jakarta from Singapore.
Besides serving as foreign minister, Alatas also occupied a number of diplomatic posts overseas, including serving as Indonesia's permanent representative to the United Nations, and also chaired numerous international seminars.
In 2003, Alatas was appointed an adviser to Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.//dpa