Suspected terrorism mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top, linked by Indonesia to the twin suicide bombings of luxury hotels in Jakarta, is not hiding in Malaysia, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today.

Hishammuddin said that based on police intelligence, the Malaysian-born militant was not in the country.

"I don't know where he is, I can only confirm that he's not here," Hishammuddin was quoted as saying by the Star daily on its website.

Indonesian authorities say Friday's attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels bear all the hallmarks of Noordin, who leads the most violent splinter faction of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) extremist network.

The coordinated blasts at the hotels in a central Jakarta business district popular with foreigners killed at least seven people including three Australians, a New Zealander and an Indonesian.

NONE Hishammuddin said Malaysian police were working closely with their Indonesian counterparts to monitor movements of Noordin's followers in Malaysia.

In early July Malaysian police detained three terror suspects, who were believed to have met with Singaporean militant Mas Selamat bin Kastari, under a tough security law for allegedly trying to revive the JI movement here.

Mas Selamat was captured in southern Malaysia in April after escaping from detention in Singapore.

Mas Selamat is said to be the head of the Singapore cell of JI, an underground group linked to Al-Qaeda and blamed for 2002 bombings of Bali nightspots and other bloody attacks in Southeast Asia.

-AFP