Indonesia unlikely to question Malaysian linked to Bali blasts

Indonesia unlikely to question Malaysian linked to Bali blasts

Jasbant Singh, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Indonesian authorities will not question a detained Malaysian
terror suspect accused of delivering funds to Indonesian
militants for the Bali bombings, police said on Thursday.

Malaysia's Insp. Gen. of Police Norian Mai said Indonesian
investigators who will visit Malaysia soon would not have access
to Wan Min Wan Mat, identified by Indonesian police as treasurer
of the regional terror network Jamaah Islamiyah.

"Not at the moment," Norian told reporters. "Basically they
want clarification, our officers can handle that."

Wan Min, a former university lecturer arrested by Malaysian
police in September, is believed to have handed US$30,000 to
Mukhlas, a key Indonesian suspect in the Oct. 12 blasts that
killed nearly 200 people, mostly foreign tourists. Malaysia is
believed to have provided key intelligence that helped lead to
Mukhlas' recent arrest in Indonesia.

Mukhlas, also known as Ali Gufron, claimed the transaction was
ordered by another Indonesian, Riduan Isamuddin, better known as
Hambali.

Indonesian police say Mukhlas recently replaced Hambali as the
operations chief of Jamaah Islamiyah after Hambali went into
hiding in Pakistan.

Wan Min claimed he did not know what the money would be used
for.

Norian said Malaysia would continue its intelligence
cooperation with Indonesian police.

Malaysia has jailed more than 70 suspected militants since
mid-2001, many of them members of Jamaah Islamiyah, suspected of
engineering the Bali bombings and plotting against Western
targets.

Jamaah Islamiyah is an al-Qaeda ally and seeks to establish a
pan-Islamic state in Muslim areas of Southeast Asia.

Police in Indonesia have arrested more than two dozen people
in connection with the Bali blasts. At least three, including
Mukhlas, are accused of having a major role in the attack.