A Malaysian who moved into a new apartment near the Australian embassy in Jakarta yesterday, thought that the Indonesian capital was being rocked by an earthquake when a powerful explosion ripped the foreign mission this morning.

"I thought it was an earthquake. Everybody rushed out to the balcony to see what was happening," recalled Shamila Ariffin, who was lying on her bed contemplating whether to go to the grocery store when the blast occurred at about 10.30am.

"I stayed in my apartment for another three hours and was afraid to come out until just now," the 30-year-old researcher told malaysiakini via telephone while she was at the scene of the explosion.

Shamila, who is media officer of the Consumer Association of Penang, is taking a year off to do a research on Islam in Indonesia.

Describing the aftermath, she said two buildings - the Greek embassy and a business complex - were completely damaged and all the shops in the area were closed.

"There is a lot of broken glass on the street and there are a lot of people around here. The police are chasing the people away. People around here are shocked," she added.

Minutes after the blast, Shamila said the police checked her apartment, which is about five minutes' walk away from the embassy.

"They searched everybody. All bags were opened and examined," she added.

She said the bombing has also caused widespread anger among the people there.

"Many of my Indonesian friends are outraged and upset. This (bombing) does not reflect who the Indonesians are. I think the whole of Indonesia is angry," she added.

Malaysian suspect

At least nine people were killed and 160 are believed to be wounded in the explosion, which was caused by a car bomb.

The blast ripped off the embassy's gates and left a three-metre crater in the ground.

A police vehicle and a taxi nearby were badly damaged, and burned motorcycles were strewn about the scene. At least one had a dead rider beside it.

According to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, all Australian staff at the embassy have been accounted for.

Indonesian police said the bomb was bigger than that which struck the JW Marriott Hotel nearby in Jakarta on Aug 5 last year.

According to the police, the elusive Malaysian bomb expert, Azahari Husin, was emerging as the prime suspect.