An Indonesian man identified as the mastermind behind the Bali bombing lived in Malaysia five years ago as a teacher at a religious school, said a media report today.

Imam Samudra studied at the Al-Tarbiyyah Al-Islamiyyah Luqmanul Hakiem Madrasah in Johor before becoming a teacher there and marrying a Malaysian woman, the Malay Mail said.

Another suspect named as Samudra's deputy in the plot, Idris alias Johni, also studied at the school.

Several teachers at the school, including the principal, Shahril Hat, were detained by police in January this year for their alleged involvement with the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM), the paper said.

The KMM has been linked to Jemaah Islamiah (JI), which aims to set up a regional pan-Islamic state and has been accused by western governments of involvement in the Oct 12 Bali bombing which killed nearly 200 people.

Making bombs

Chief Indonesian police investigator I Made Mangku Pastika identified Imam Samudra as the mastermind behind the Bali attack.

"His role in the Bali bombing is as leader in the field, in the planning, and carrying out of the bombing, and he is capable of making bombs," Pastika said.

Indonesia's top security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has previously described Samudra as one of the leaders of the JI network.

But Pastika said investigators could not yet tie the plot to JI or the al-Qaeda network.

A Sundanese Muslim aged about 35, the alleged mastermind was born Abdul Azis but has used many aliases including Imam Samudra, Pastika said.

Samudra had been to Afghanistan, Pastika said, but he did not know in which year.

Two of JI's alleged top leaders, Indonesian clerics Abu Bakar Bashir and Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali, also lived in Malaysia for several years after fleeing repression in Indonesia under former dictator Suharto.

They returned to Indonesia when Suharto's rule came to an end in 1998.AFP