Q: You were involved in the peace dialogue between representatives of the Thai government and some of the separatist movements, but the talks didn't seem to help the situation on the ground. Do you it was worth your try?

A: It's always worth trying. I never thought it was going to be easy. Everywhere else it has taken a lot of time to resolve such problem. But it's not entirely impossible to resolve these things, provided there's willingness on both sides,to see the other side's viewpoint.

Q: Do you sense any common grounds between the Thai sides and separatists movement side?

A: One of the things that we have to keep in mind is that there's no one single group under one command. If you have one single group under one command, then you can talk to the leaders. Here, I sense there are many small separate groups and they are acting on their own. So the people I talk to are fairly small groups of people. They cannot tell the others this is the line to follow.

Q: You are admitting that some of these people are residents in Malaysia. Doesn't that give rise to suspicions that Malaysia is harboring them?

A: As long as they are not actively responsible for acts of terror in Thailand, they are welcome to stay here.

Q: You mean you don't have proof that these people were involved in the violence.

A: No proof that we can accept. Of course, there have been accusations against them, but some of them are working here and they don't seem to be active. Our police and special branch, will know if they are active.

Q: Certain quarters of Thai people and Thai government are suspicious of your motive. Some even believe some of the separatist groups have your support and some of the terrorist acts were plotted here on this island.

A: That's not true. When we met in Langkawi, we were trying to find a way out of this. We are interested because a lot of these people have relatives across the border. They are not just residents of Thailand. There are many who have relatives living in Malaysia. So we have to be neutral and have to see that they are not unduly exposed to being killed for no reason.

Q: But representatives of the Pulo, Bersatu and BRN joining the talks are seen as being old guard and might not have influence over those responsible for the violence in southern Thailand.

A: That's possible. They might have lost interest which will be very bad.

They are the ones who have come to realize how far they can go, but there'll always be young, extreme leaders on the fringes, on any such situation.

Q: Do you think these young people are willing to talk the way these people are willing to talk?

A: Well, if they see these people succeed, even to a small degree, they would be much more wiling to follow the line taken by these old leaders.

Q: But what do these people want exactly?

A: They told me that they understand they cannot expect independence or autonomy.

They want to see their part of Thailand given the same treatment like other parts of Thailand. They want to see their people educated, employed. They want to see business being done in the south just like other parts of Thailand.

Q: These peace talks seem to be in a limbo. You have been told to back off from this mediation effort

A: Well, the (Malaysian) Foreign Ministry said they didn't tell me to back off. But sometimes you know, what is said and what happens is different. And if I can be of some use, I will certainly try to contribute.

Q: How do you want Thai people see your role in the talks?

A: I have nothing to gain from all these.