REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Army Chief General Budiman denied having said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government was now like a sinking ship that deserves to be abandoned.

"I have never (made the statement). I am an honest man and not a type of traitor," General Budiman stated on the sidelines of a roll call of the military forces in charge of pacification of the 2014 presidential election at the Army headquarters in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.

Budiman also denied various rumors regarding his replacement as the Army chief, which was carried out in the run up to the announcement of the recent July 9 presidential result by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

One of the rumors was an allegation wherein he had mentioned that Yudhoyono's government was now like a sinking ship. This alleged statement is believed to have angered the president.