Embarrassed by Thursday's coordinated attack that saw more than 40 bombs being set off almost simultaneously in the restive region, policy-makers looked for all kinds of excuses to explain why preventive measures were not in place in spite of claims of having prior knowledge of the planned attacks.

Trying to sound as if he were in control, caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters that the authorities had supposedly obtained intelligence about the coming of a "major operation". His interior chief, Kongsak Wantana, on the other hand, placed the blame on Malaysia, saying that that's where these bombs were made.

Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Chidchai Vanasatidya, meanwhile, credited Thursday's blitz to an unknown forum, supposedly held in Germany in 1997 by a group of Pattani exiles, as it fell on the ninth anniversary of the meeting, which supposedly declared the date "Pattani National Day".

Incidentally, neither the public in the deep South nor the known separatist groups - Pattani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo), Barisan Revolusi Nasional or Bersatu - have acknowledged such a declaration.

Army chief General Sondhi Boonyaratglin, perhaps one of the more level heads in the security community, warned against making something out of nothing.

What jolted many people was the fact that about half of the bombs were planted just a few metres from the work desks of district chiefs and mayors, one of whom was said to have passed out in the commotion.

But while policy and security planners were trying to pick up the pieces after Thursday's wave of bombings, none were willing to give credit to the militants by acknowledging that these guys really mean business.

Kongsak's tossing the blame to Malaysia is threatening to lead to another spitting contest as Malaysian Foreign Minister Syid Hamid Albar decided to hit back the following day.

"Finding a scapegoat to justify what has happened will not help in any way to ease the tension in the restive South but will only worsen the situation," Syed was quoted as saying.

Thailand and Malaysia have already gone through several rounds of diplomatic wrangling over the South and nothing constructive has ever come of it. There is a general understanding among the security planners and policy-makers that Malaysia's cooperation is essential if peace is to be restored in the region.

This is not to say that Malaysia is entirely out of the picture or blameless, however. One cannot talk about insurgency in southern Thailand without talking about Malaysia.

Communities living along both sides of the border share a common culture. They speak the same Malay dialect, practise the same brand of Islam and, in many cases, have relatives on both sides of the border.

Residents of northern Malaysia have always been sympathetic to the plight of their neighbours in southern Thailand and often provide refuge for people seeking a place to lie low when things get too hot.

In fact, a significant number of field commanders and foot soldiers from the previous generation of militants were permitted to reside in northern Malaysia following the collapse of their armed wings more than a decade ago.

Thailand showed reciprocity by granting members of the Communist Party of Malaya citizenship and residency.

But as that chapter of Thai-Malaysian history was drawing to a close, the making of a new generation of insurgents in Thailand's deep South was slowly taking place. It went undetected for about eight years as both Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur sought comfort in a false sense of security based on the mistaken belief that the spirit of separatism in the Malay-speaking region was dead and gone.

But in the villages in the deep South, far away from Bangkok, a quiet indoctrination about the ethnic Malays' claim to the "Patani Darusalam" would capture the imagination of the new generation of militants.

They would eventually learn how to use weapons and make home-made bombs from materials readily available in downtown hardware stores.

They would structure themselves differently as well. Instead of camping out in remote hills, the combatants would form small independent cells across the region and operate secretly from the community in which they live.

While these developments went undetected, there were other incidents that should have caused concern - or at least served as a reminder that the problem was far from over.

In 1998, for example, the Chuan Leekpai government managed to convince Malaysia to return three Pulo field commanders - Abdul Rahman Bazo and two brothers, Ismail and Da-oh Thanam - to Thailand. The three are currently serving time in prison in Bangkok on charges of treason. But no one wanted to treat the secret hand-over as part of something bigger.

It's a different story nowadays. Malaysia is trying hard to reinvent itself and be recognised as a model Muslim state - one that is modern, developed, sophisticated and caring. The plight of the ethnic Malays in southern Thailand must also be understood in that context, not just a purely bilateral context.

It has been very difficult indeed for Bangkok to learn to live with the fact that Kuala Lumpur will not, quietly or publicly, hand over any suspect on its word alone. Few there believe that the suspects will get a fair trial, and apparently no Malaysian official wants blood on their hands.

Moreover, many of these suspects are said to have Malaysian citizenship as well.

But dealing in an up front, straightforward manner has never been the preferred choice of countries in the region. And no matter how frustrated Thai officials may be over Malaysia's indifference to the violence in the South, political leaders in Bangkok don't seem to want to go toe to toe with Kuala Lumpur on the issue even though they are convinced that they have legitimate grievances.

And so they opt for microphone diplomacy whenever they want to bring up sensitive matters, like the extradition of this or that suspect. They continue to do this to get through the moment, even if it means undermining their own credibility in the long run.

Don Pathan

The Nation