Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denied Friday that his 2004 presidential campaign was financed with public money, branding the claims "illogical."
"I and (vice president) Jusuf Kalla clearly never received (funds) and clearly the claims are misleading and unhealthy," Yudhoyono said in a rare press conference called to reject the claims.
The allegations were made by failed presidential candidate Amien Rais, who has admitted receiving 200 million rupiah (22,000 US dollars) in unauthorised funds for his own campaign.
Rais, a former parliamentary speaker, claimed earlier this month that money was also funelled by a government minister to other candidates, including Yudhoyono, and called on them to confess. Former marine and fisheries minister Rohmin Dahuri is currently on trial for allegedly misusing his department's money.
Yudhoyono, Indonesia's first democratically elected president, said Friday the "claims that we received illegal financing are illogical".
Yudhoyono, who came to office in October 2004, has vowed to root out endemic corruption at the highest levels of government. He has described as embarrassing the levels of bribery and kickbacks in Indonesia which have in the past poisoned the economy in the eyes of foreign investors.
The president's comments also follow a newspaper report Friday which said testimony was given at Dahuri's trial that the Yudhoyono and Kalla campaign team received 387 million rupiah (43,000 dollars).
Funds were also transferred from Dahuri's department to other candidates' campaign teams, a former member of his staff has reportedly told the trial.
Dahuri denied Friday any involvement in the distribution of money, saying he delegated the duty to a staffer, Didi Sadili.
"Our honesty in recording everything is what caused me to fall in this mess," Dahuri told ElShinta radio. "(Receivers) of funds are recorded by Didi Sadili, my staffer that managed the funds, and the names have been mentioned as fact in the trial," he said without saying who had been named.
Watchdog Transparency International ranks Indonesia as one of the world's most corrupt countries.