Malaysia and Indonesia have pledged to exchange intelligence in an effort to fight terrorist activities and cross border crime, a top police official said today.

"Exchange of intelligence is very important to put us in a better position to crackdown on activities that threaten the country," police chief Norian Mai was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying.

Norian earlier held talks with his Indonesian counterpart, Da'i Bachtiar, who is on a two-day visit with a nine-member delegation to attend the international defence exhibition.

Norian said both the Southeast Asian neighbours had agreed to heighten cooperation to resolve issues of illegal entry and cross border smuggling of firearms.

Both countries would hold another meeting to focus on fighting groups and activities which threatened national security, adding that these problems needed collective cooperation from all countries in the region, he said.

Malaysian authorities are seeking more information on Riduan Hishamuddin, an Indonesian citizen with residency in Malaysia, who is suspected to be a leader of the local Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM).

Regional network

The group is believed to linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Riduan, better known as Hambali, was last seen in Indonesia in October last year, police said.

Indonesian police have also questioned Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, an Indonesian Muslim cleric also fingered by Malaysia for terrorist activities.

Singapore says he is a leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional network which allegedly planned to blow up US targets in the island republic.