Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants to bring home two Malaysians held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility which US President Barack Obama has ordered shut within a year.

"We'd like to bring both of them home so that they could continue to serve their sentences in Malaysia," Abdullah told state news agency Bernama on Saturday.

"President Obama's decision must have gone down well with many countries and Malaysia too is happy because he has fulfilled his promise," he added.

Mohammed Nazir Lep and Mohammad Farik Amin are described by US authorities as members of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the group behind a series of attacks in Southeast Asia including the 2002 bombings in Bali.

Obama closes Guantanamo Bay Mohammed Nazir, better known as Lillie, is said to have transferred Al-Qaeda funds for use in the 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta which killed 12 people.

Mohammad Farik, also known as Zubair, allegedly served directly under JI operational planner Hambali.

Obama, who took office this week, ordered the closure of the prison at the US naval base in Cuba, with its remaining 250 detainees to be dealt with constitutionally.

Of the remaining Guantanamo inmates, only about 20 have been charged, including five men accused of helping organise the September 11 attacks of 2001.