Camelia Pasandaran – A senior cabinet minister on Wednesday rejected allegations that hard-line Islamists backed by senior retired military generals were attempting to overthrow the government.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, one of the first senior ministers to address the claims outlined in a report by cable news station Al Jazeera on Tuesday, said there were "no plans and there should not be any plans for a coup."

"There have never been any reports of a coup," said Purnomo, a surprise appointment as defense minister after nine heavily criticized years as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The minister said even if there was a planned coup, "we're going to face it." He did not address the wider concerns that senior retired military generals were supporting hard-line Islamic groups who were stoking religious tensions in Indonesia.

Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, gave any plot little chance of success given the nation's recent democratic advances. He said that though Indonesian was yet to reach democratic maturity, "if we are lacking in some aspects, we should go through the [democratic] process."