W

ith less than two weeks to go before the President is expected to announce a major reshuffle of his Cabient, rumors and hoaxes about who would be picked for the nation’s top posts abounded on the Internet, pleasing some, and embaressing others.

On Sunday, prominent businessman Sandiaga Uno was busy refuting claims that he had been named a new Cabinet member, after what appeared to be a phony Facebook account under his name announced that he had won a Cabinet seat.

“I’ve been officially offered a chance to serve as the Finance Minister and the Investment Coordinating Board [BKPM] chief. I need positive and negative input please,” the Facebook page’s shout-out read as quoted by several news portals on Sunday including thejakartapost.com.

Sandiaga subsequently told The Jakarta Post that the Facebook account was not his.

“It is a hoax. Please clarify. [The announcement] was made by someone who claimed to be me on a Facebook account,” Sandiaga, who is chairman of Saratoga Capital Investment group, said.

“Please clarify. It was a fake Facebook account, my real Facebook account is Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno and my official Twitter account is @sandiuno.”

“It’s not true at all.”

Daniel Sparringa, an advisor to President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono, declined to comment on whether the President had selected Sandiaga as one of his new ministers.

“I don’t know about that,” Daniel said.

BKPM chairman Gita Wirjawan did not respond to text messages sent by the Post seeking his comments on the reshuffle.

When he was recently asked to comment on rumors that he had been named the new state-owned enterprises minister, he told reporters: “I have not heard anything like that. What if I told you that Michael Jackson was still alive?”

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo, who many believe will be replaced in the upcoming reshuffle, told reporters last week: “It’s OK, but the key is whether the individuals appointed as the President’s aides will be credible and professional in their fields.”

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, whose daughter will marry Yudhoyono’s son next month, told reporters recently that he had conveyed his suggestions about Cabinet candidates to the President. He declined to elaborate.

“We don’t know. The President is the one who knows. Again, even if I knew, I would not say,” Hatta said.

However, he then added: “You would all see if I conducted a coordination meeting at 7 a.m., you would see which minister was diligent. You would see who arrived at 7 a.m. sharp, who was late, who showed up and who didn’t show up. I don’t have to tell you.”

“The parameter [for a reshuffle] is not punctuality. But it shows that there needs to be an effort not to do business as usual.”

On Saturday, Yudhoyono summoned his special staff to discuss his administration’s final three years in power.

The President is scheduled to announce his new Cabinet before Oct. 21.