Malaysia is ready to cooperate with Indonesian police trying to track funds used to finance the Oct 12 Bali bomb blast which killed nearly 200 people, a police spokesperson said today.

Indonesian police have said a suspected leader of the Jemaah Islamiah regional terror group (JI), Mukhlas, received RM114,000 (US$30,000) in cash from a Malaysian called Wan Min Wan Mat to prepare the attack.

Wan Min was detained by the authorities under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in September and is being held at the Kamunting detention camp in Perak.

Indonesian police said Wan Min had given the money to Mukhlas under instructions from Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, an Indonesian suspected of being a leading member of JI and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.

Mukhlas is under arrest in Indonesia, along with several other suspects in the Bali blast, but Hambali's whereabouts are unknown.

"It's quite a normal thing, to trade intelligence, and bilateral cooperation between Malaysia and Indonesia has always been there from the start," the police spokesman told AFP .

No official request yet

He said the Indonesians had indicated to police chief Norian Mai last week that they wanted to send a team to Malaysia to investigate the alleged link between the Malaysian and the Bali blast.

However, he said they had yet to make an official request and confirm an arrival date.

If they wanted to interview Wan Min in detention they would have to apply through the Attorney-General, the police spokesman said.

Asked whether the Malaysian police believed Wan Min to be the treasurer for JI, as suggested by the Indonesians, he said "Hambali is still the main man.

"We need Hambali to confirm the flow of funds in and out of JI, so he can tell us where he gets the money, and for what purpose and to whom he gives it." AFP