Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today that contrary to news reports in Jakarta no Malaysian had been found to be involved in the Bali bombing.

Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai had been informed of this by his Indonesian counterpart, Abdullah said.

"Malaysian police are in touch with Indonesia for any new developments regarding this matter and will be informed immediately if any Malaysians were involved," he told a news conference.

Some reports in the Indonesian media said that a Malaysian and a Yemeni national spearheaded the weekend bombing in Bali, which killed nearly 200 people, mainly western tourists.

Abdullah said the government had no information suggesting that Malaysia might become the next target for terrorists, adding that the security situation was "very good" as the use of preventive detention laws allowed the country to stay on top of the situation.

Seventy-two alleged members of a militant group have been detained under the Internal Security Act since last November, many of them linked to the Jemaah Islamiah group suspected of involvement in the Bali blast.

The ISA allows for indefinite detention without trial, and Abdullah recommended that Indonesia consider adopting similar legislation.

Legal action

Abdullah expressed outrage over a revelation that Barisan Nasional had been listed in a United Nations' Security Council report as having links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.

The report was "totally untruthful and offensive" and the government would seek a retraction, he said.

Local media said the UN report was based on information in the book ' Inside al-Qaeda - Global Network of Terror ' by Rohan Gunaratna, which depicts BN as being among local groups with "ideological and political links" to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines, which had direct links to al-Qaeda.

Abdullah said the government was considering taking action against Gunaratna, a Sri Lankan.— AFP