Arientha Primanita – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has denied that the names of prospective new ministers have been leaked to the public ahead of a much-discussed cabinet reshuffle.

"The source is not me and I don't know it," Yudhoyono said in a press conference on Tuesday. "Learning from the 2009 [minister selection process] experience, it happened the same. Many parties were outraged even up until now."

The president is planning for a reshuffle before Oct. 20 in the hopes of boosting the performance of his much-derided cabinet ahead of the 2012 campaign season. Already, several names have been bandied about as replacements for underperforming ministers.

Fadel Muhammad is rumored to have been picked to replace the current coordinating minister for people's welfare, Agung Laksono. Other gossip has picked former Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Toisutta to replace Freddy Numberi as Transportation Minister.

Other names that have made the rounds lately as potential replacements for ministers are Jumhur Hidayat, head of the National Board for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers (BNP2TKI), as manpower and transmigration minister, and Gita Wirjawan, current chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) who is rumored to be favored to take over the Ministry of State Owned Enterprises.

"I want to say that I don't know about the names, this [person] will be this minister, or this minister will be replaced and others," Yudhoyono said on Tuesday.

The president said he had only discussed the reshuffle plan with Vice President Boediono, and then only to ask his advice. "None of the information was from me," Yudhoyono reiterated. "So they [those names] are beyond my knowledge, and I'm not the source."

The president said he was making the statement due to the number of text messages he had received asking whether the candidate rumors were true.