Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said his meeting Tuesday with Thailand's junta leader, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, went well and that they had agreed to work together.

"He has suggested that we take immediate steps to compare the database of our two departments relating to the problem of dual citizenship," he said.

 "We will then take it from there so that eventually we will be able to resolve this problem."

 Thailand believes that militants behind the three-year insurgency in the south are abusing dual citizenship to escape across the border with Malaysia after committing attacks.

 It has begun issuing fingerprint-embedded "smart" ID cards to 1.2 million residents of its Muslim-majority provinces last October in an effort to end the practice.

 Thailand had hoped Malaysia would share information about its citizens, so that it can identify the dual nationals and force them to choose one citizenship.

 Najib said Sonthi was attempting to adopt a more conciliatory approach by holding direct talks with Thai Muslims, after years of heavy-handed tactics by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

 "He is of course trying to talk directly to the parties concerned in the south. He is appreciative of whatever else we can do," He said.

 Najib also said Thai authorities will be granted access to the 131 Thai Muslims who crossed the border to flee the violence last year, in a bid to convince them to return.

 "He would like for them to return and I said this is our wish as well since they are Thai citizens. By rights they should return to Thailand," Najib said.

 "Meanwhile, we will continue to keep them in the centre in Terengganu (state) and we will allow free access to them by the Thai authorities," he said.

 Malaysia has provided shelter to the 131, who include women and children, and vowed not to force them out of the country.