PUTRAJAYA, Jan 31 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail today said the government is awaiting a US military court’s decision on the two Malaysians who conspired in the 2002 terrorist bombing in Bali, Indonesia.

He said that while the government was watching the case closely, it could not pre-empt the US court.

"So, until the decision is made, we will take action or set our next stance,” he said in a press conference here.

On January 27, national news agency Bernama reported that a military jury at Guantanamo Bay sentenced two Malaysians to an additional five years in confinement on Friday for conspiring in the 2002 terrorist bombing that killed 202 people in Bali, Indonesia.

Both Mohammed Farik Amin and Mohammed Nazir could be freed by 2029. Both have been held in confinement in the United States since the summer of 2003.

US military judge Lt Col Wesley A. Braun ruled they could return in five years after cutting 311 days off Mohammed Farik’s sentence and 379 days off Mohammed Nasir’s because prosecutors missed court deadlines for turning over evidence to defence lawyers as they prepared their case.

The duo pleaded guilty to conspiring in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people.

The two men appeared in front of a military court at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay last week in proceedings broadcast via video link to reporters in the United States.

It was reported that the duo could be returned to Malaysia before the end of the year under the plea deal agreed last week.