The 81-year-old former premier of Thailand's southern neighbour brokered secret talks between Thai officials and Muslim groups on the Malaysian island of Langkawi late last year to try to establish a ceasefire.

"I think they are at a stage where they want to talk, so they need a response from the government, but the actual terms -- that will have to be negotiated by them," he told the New Straits Times.

Mahathir said the new Thai government was more conciliatory than that of  former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup last month.

He also said he was willing to continue as a negotiator in the two-year crisis on Malaysia's doorstep, which has left more than 1,500 people dead since violence erupted in January 2004.

"If people want me to play a role, I'm quite prepared but I'm not pushing myself," he said.

Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said this week ahead of Wednesday's visit by Thai prime minister Surayud Chulanont that Malaysia is willing to play a "bigger role" in resolving the insurgency.

Thailand's new government has announced plans for talks with two insurgent groups early next month.

Malaysia shares a border with Thailand's troubled Muslim-majority south, which was an independent, ethnic Malay sultanate until Thailand annexed it a century ago.

Agence France-Presse