Alleged Southeast Asian terrorist chief Hambali raised at least RM2 million in Malaysia through donations from unsuspecting Muslims to fund his operations, a news report said.

The money was used by Hambali's Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group to stage bombings as part of jihad or holy war in the region, for arms training and for other JI activities, The Star said quoting intelligence reports.

The daily said Hambali raised funds through a non-governmental body, Pertubuhan al-Ehasan, which was set up in 1998 in Malaysia's central Selangor state and used as a base to coordinate JI's regional activities.

Hambali is the operational commander of JI, which is widely blamed for the Oct 12 bombings in Indonesia's Bali island which killed more than 190 people, and has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

The Indonesian preacher, whose current whereabouts are unknown, has been named publicly by several countries including Australia, Malaysia and Singapore as a terrorist leader.

Government contracts

Police chief Norian Mai told the daily that Indonesia had suggested setting up a special team to track down Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin.

"He's high on the wanted list. He collected money from unsuspecting people, not only in Malaysia but all over the world," Norian said.

The Star said fresh information by the police showed that as of December 2001, RM800,000 has been used to buy arms and to send JI members for training in Afghanistan.

"The money was also used to blow up a train station in Manila and to stage bombings in churces in Indonesia," an intelligent source was quoted as saying.

It was also used to host French national Zaccharias Moussaoui, detained in the United States for being a prime suspect in the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, and to rent a safe house for terrorists in Karachi, police said.

His firm, Al Risalah Trading, also won government contracts including the installation of water pipes and Hambali channelled the profits into other JI activities, it said.

Police have detained the senior government officials who awarded the tenders to Hambali's firm to ascertain their links to JI, Norian said. - AFP