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AP;HHR; ANPAu..r.. Aglance-Malaysia-terrorist Suspected JI 'leader' to stay in KL JP/11/J04 Suspected JI 'leader' to stay in KL MALAYSIA: A suspected leader of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist network jailed in Malaysia won an initial victory on Tuesday in a court battle against being deported to his native Indonesia.

Mohamad Iqbal Abdul Rahman was granted the right to appeal a government order withdrawing his permanent residency status in Malaysia.

If his appeal is successful, it takes him closer to his ultimate aim of being able to live freely in Malaysia.

Malaysian authorities allege Iqbal was involved in militant activities that threatened national security and held him without trial for two years.

But when his detention order came up for renewal in August, Malaysian officials instead transferred him to Immigration Department custody, canceled his permanent residency status and said he would be deported.

Malaysian authorities did not give a reason for not renewing the detention order against Iqbal, though the possibility of a bureaucratic mistake has been raised. -- AP