Nurfika Osman & Farouk Arnaz – Islamic figures on Wednesday admitted to involvement in a plan last year to set up an Islamic revolutionary cabinet, but denied it was an attempt to overthrow the government.

"At the time, we only stood by. In the event that our government collapsed, we would have been ready to take over," the secretary general of the Islamic People's Forum (FUI), Muhammad Al Khaththath, said on Wednesday.

He was referring to a detailed alternative cabinet lineup for a proposed Islamic government, referred to as DRI, that he posted online in March last year during the heat of the Bank Century bailout controversy.

The "cabinet' named Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Habib Riziq as president and well-known radical Abu Jibril, a senior member of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), as vice president.

The list became widely known after Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday that "senior retired generals" were backing Islamic hard-liner groups, including the FPI and the FUI, to topple the government. Al Khaththath said he himself arranged the structures of the DRI cabinet.

Joserizal Jurnalis, an orthopedic physician who is also a director of the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, is the proposed health minister on the list.

"Yes, I was in the [DRI] cabinet last year, but I do not know who's in the cabinet this year," Joserizal told the Jakarta Globe. "I am close with Habib Riziq and Abu Jibril, they are my best friends."

Others on the list, though, denied knowing anything about the proposal.

"I have never even heard about this list, [FUI] had never said anything about this," Hendri Saparini, the managing director of economic think tank Ecnoit, who appeared on the cabinet list as the coordinating minister for economy and state-owned enterprises, told the Globe. "I would never be a part of such a conspiracy to topple the government."

The economist said she had often advocated the implementation of a Shariah-based economy in Indonesia. "I often come into contact with various Muslim organizations, so they know me well and they know my concept very well too," Hendri said.

Luthfie Hakim, a lawyer known for defending hard-liners and suspected terrorists, refused to comment about being named on the list as attorney general.

But both Al Khaththath and Joserizal said DRI did not aim to overthrow the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono government. "If there is a vacuum in politics, then we have an initiative. Do we call that subversion? If there is a tsunami in Jakarta and everyone dies, we have a structure. Is that subversion?" Al Khaththath said.

Joserizal said scandals such as the Bank Century bailout put the country in danger. "The country was in a chaotic condition at the time. Our aim was to protest against the government since their direction was not clear," Joserizal said. "DRI is a reaction [to these situations] from Muslims."

Government ministers also rejected allegations that hard-line Islamists backed by senior retired military generals were attempting to overthrow the government.

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said there were "no plans and there should not be any plans for a coup." The minister said even if there was a planned coup, "we're ready to face it."

[Additional reporting by Camelia Pasandaran & Nivell Rayda.]