Megawati Soekarnoputri will likely have to answer a sensitive question about sex ­from a team of doctors officially assigned to examine the mental and physical capabilities of presidential candidates and their running mates. Under the medical standards set by the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), female candidates must avoid sexual relations for at least 10 days before undergoing a medical checkup by the official team.
Megawati, who chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), will almost certainly be the only female candidate to contest the July 8 presidential election.
The requirement for a female candidate to avoid having sex is to prevent the outcome of her medical checkup from showing “biased” results, IDI chairman Fachmi Idris said without elaborating.
All male and female candidates were also ordered to fast one day be...