Bagus BT Saragih and Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The ministers whose officials were implicated in the budget-fixing scheme revealed by Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam may be in increasingly hot water with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Comments from Heru Lelono, an expert member of the President's staff for information affairs, on Tuesday made it clear that the heat was on. "The President will definitely take firm action if evidence can be found that some of his ministers were involved in the misappropriation of state budgets."

However, the aide declined to confirm if firm action meant that the President would fire the ministers, which would lead to a Cabinet reshuffle. "If the ministers feel that they are 'clean', they have no reason to worry. Just work as usual," Heru said.

Dipo filed a report with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last week alleging that several officials from the Agriculture Ministry, Defense Ministry and the Trade Ministry had conspired with House of Representatives lawmakers to fix their budgets.

The Cabinet secretary said that he had documents from civil servants at the ministries to substantiate his allegations.

While some lawmakers have described Dipo's claims as a publicity stunt aimed at creating perceptions of a rift within Yudhoyono's multi-party Cabinet, Tjahjo Kumolo, a lawmaker of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that Dipo was in the middle of "power struggle" with top officials in Yudhoyono's inner circle.

Heru, however, dismissed such speculation. "I can understand that the Cabinet secretary's move has created pros and cons. But I don't think we can use it as evidence that the Cabinet is in disarray."

Critics outside the House have described Dipo's move as part of an elaborate plan hatched by Yudhoyono himself to justify another reshuffle in January, possibly the last before his second term ends in 2014.

Meanwhile, others have said that Dipo's move may have been to lay the groundwork for ousting ministers implicated in extramarital affairs from the Cabinet during a reshuffle, or perhaps for firing Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, who has been implicated in several graft scandals.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha shrugged off notions that Dipo had been Yudhoyono's errand boy. "The President is aware of Pak Dipo's report to the KPK. However, it was [Dipo's] personal initiative and his individual political action," Julian said.

Increasing the heat for the ministers involved, albeit tangentially, in Dipo's allegations, copies of a document that appeared to have been issued by Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo began to circulate on Tuesday.

In the letter dated Sept. 25, Agus ordered his officials to halt the disbursement of Rp 678 billion (US$70.38 million) additional funding to the Defense Ministry. Lawmaker Mahfudz Siddiq, the chairman of the House Commission I overseeing defense and security, confirmed that the letter was genuine.

Mahfudz said that Dipo requested that the budget disbursement be put on hold during a meeting with Commission I lawmakers and a high-ranking official from the Finance Ministry.

Contacted separately, Col. Bambang Hartawan, the spokesman of the Defense Ministry, had no details on the allegations. "We don't have official information yet. However, we are ready to respond to the reports about alleged corruption in our ministry because we are open and transparent," Bambang said.

On Tuesday, KPK spokesman Johan Budi said that investigators had launched a separate investigation into a suspect fertilizer procurement at the Agriculture Ministry. Agriculture Minister Suswono has said that Dipo's report to the KPK "was based on inaccurate data".