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.