Malaysian tour agencies should help promote Indonesian destinations following the bomb blasts in the popular island resort of Bali, said Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir today.

According to a Bernama report, the minister said that besides Bali, there were other attractive places in the neighbouring country such as Medan and its capital, Jakarta.

Abdul Kadir said this at a media conference after opening the 14th Matta International Tourism Festival in Kuala Lumpur.

In last Saturday's incident, more than 180 people died and hundreds others were injured when four bombs ripped through two nightclubs in the island.

Those killed were mostly foreigners, the majority being Australians.

Authorities have pointed the finger at al-Qaeda the terror network helmed by Osama bin Laden, which was blamed for the Sept 11 attacks on the United States.

Yesterday, six people were killed and 100 more injured when two explosions rocked the southern Phillipines city, Zamboanga.

Local separatist movement Abu Sayaff was suspected to be behind the blasts. The movement was also said to have ties with al-Qaeda.

Meanwhile, Abdul Kadir expressed confidence that the two incidents would not effect Malaysia's image of being a safe tourist destination.

"Tourists know the situation in this country and we are confident that there will be more tourism activities throughout October, November and December this year, or at least we hope to achieve levels comparable to last year if nothing untoward occurs," he said.