The warning echoes comments by Malaysia's police intelligence chief who said last month that the organisation, seeking an Islamic state in Southeast Asia, was regrouping after recent arrests.

"Though some of the Jemaah Islamiah leaders have been caught, younger ones have risen to take their place and 'sleepers' may have been roused to prepare for activation," Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said in a speech.

Singapore boasts Southeast Asia's most advance security apparatus but sees itself as a prime target after foiling plans by Jemaah Islamiah -- blamed for the deadly 2002 bombings on Indonesia's Bali island -- to attack Western targets in 2001.

Wong said several JI members are at large "and are said to be planning the next attack". Among them were Malaysians Azahari Husin, Noordin Mohamed Top, Dulmatin, and Indonesian Zulkarnaen, he said, without elaborating.

Azahari, an academic who became the JI's top bomb-maker, has been identified by Indonesian police for a role in the Bali bombings, while 36-year-old Noordin Mohamed Top is a science graduate who has been on Malaysia's most-wanted list for 2 years.

Dulmatin is also believed to have helped to plan the Bali attack and is wanted by Indonesian police for suspected roles in the Jakarta 2000 and Bali bombings. Authorities suspect Zulkarnaen is in charge of JI's military affairs.

"We will continue to give top priority to the fight against terrorism," Wong told a ceremony to mark Singapore's Aug 9 National Day.

Singapore, a major base for Western businesses in Asia and staunch US ally, has detained 37 suspected Muslim militants since authorities foiled the 2001 plot by JI, which is believed to be the region's link to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

The government announced last month that it was forming a central agency to coordinate its fight against terrorism by creating a National Security Coordination Secretariat to oversee defence and internal security.

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