The United Nations Security Council report which ruffled feathers here by linking the Barisan Nasional government to al-Qaeda, also claimed that the terror network had financial interests in Malaysia.

The UN monitoring group, which compiled the report, said the network's financial activities have been traced to Southeast Asia.

It was said to have established front businesses and accounts, seeking charitable and other contributions, as well as engaging in illegal activities in the region.

"Al-Qaeda is suspected of having established logistic and financial support cells in Pakistan, Indonesia, Kashmir, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines," said the report which is available on the Internet.

However, no other details were provided.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government had registered a formal protest with the UN over a chart annexed to the report which drew a link between BN and al-Qaeda.

The link was established through the ruling coalition's alleged support for the Philippine separatist movement, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Also implicated were the Muslim-based opposition party PAS, the Islamic Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) and the Indian Muslim Congress of Malaysia (Kimma).

The chart was drawn based on extracts from a book, Inside al-Qaeda, global network of terror , by Rohan Gunaratna, a visiting fellow at Singapore's Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies.

Abdullah also said that the government was considering the possibility of taking legal action against Rohan.

Shallow analysis

Meanwhile, Abim secretary-general Shahran Kassim said the movement had been aware of the book's publication since early this year.

"We thought that the author only wanted to sell his book so we did not raise any fuss over the matter.

"It is not uncommon for writers to put in controversial statements in order to help sell their books," he said when contacted this afternoon.

He expressed disappointment that the UN had entertained such allegations.

Dismissing the link to al-Qaeda, Shahran said the author of the book did not appear to have in-depth knowledge of the political and religious dynamics in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

"The writing is shallow and not supported by facts and figures. If we were to make associations like this, we can say that all Muslims too may be linked since we all share the same (religious) ideology," he said.

Asked about Abim's links to Muslim separatist movements in the Philippines, Shahran said Abim had cordial contacts with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) for the past 30 years.

"We have helped them. For sure, it is not in the form of weapons but we have extended moral support to them," he said.

MILF is a splinter group of the MNLF. Both organisations have been fighting for independence from Manila to form an Islamic state in southern Philippines.

According to Shahran, MNLF holds an observer status within the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).

"They have been attending OIC meetings for a long time as they represent the Muslim population in the Philippines.

"If they are accepted by the OIC, why should we not have contact with them?" he questioned.

When asked, he said that the book's author never made any formal contact with the movement.

Pre-emptive action

In his book, Rohan connected Malaysian political parties to the MILF based on a report by the Directorate of Intelligence of the Philippine National Police.

"With the exception of military co-operation with the Jemaah Islamiah and the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, MILF's links are ideological and political, e.g. with the Movement of the Islamic Unity (APU); Islamic Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim); Islamic Front of Malaysia (IFM); Front Malaysian Islamic Council (FMIC); Indian Muslim Congress of Malaysia (Kimma); Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (MIYM), Barisan Nasional and PAS," said Gunaratna (page 197).

The author also echoed claims by several foreign news publications last year that al-Qaeda operatives had launched the Sept 11 terrorist attacks from Kuala Lumpur and Hamburg, Germany.

Furthermore, he said Malaysia had knowingly hosted several Indonesian Islamists, including Abu Bakar Bashir, and allowed them to operate in the country during their exile from Indonesia in the early 1980s.

Abu Bakar was alleged to be the leader of Jemaah Islamiah, a terror network linked to al-Qaeda, which aimed to establish Islamic states in Southeast Asia.

"Although it did not tolerate al-Qaeda as such, the (Malaysian) government failed to take pre-emptive action against its known members and supporters living in Malaysia.

"Had the Malaysian authorities disrupted al-Qaeda's Kuala Lumpur cell, the USS Cole attack (An American aircraft carrier that was attacked by terrorists in Yemen in 2000) as well as the carnage of Sept 11 might have been prevented," he said.

Rohan could not be reached for comment as he was said to be attending a conference on terrorism in Singapore.

Home Ministry officials and PAS leaders were also unavailable for comment.

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