Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi teed off his visit to Thailand with 18 holes of golf on Phuket with counterpart Surayud Chulanont yesterday.

The two held informal discussions during the round ahead of official bilateral talks in Bangkok today. They later dined together.

Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram and counterpart Syed Hamid Albar made up the foursome.

The southern insurgency topped the agenda.

The leaders discussed a possible return of 130 Narathiwat Muslims who sought refuge in Malaysia in 2005 claiming persecution by the military. Thailand has previously tried unsuccessfully to secure their repatriation.

Bangkok will seek cooperation from Kuala Lumpur in a bid to contain violence in the deep South that has killed some 2,000 people in three years.

Kuala Lumpur considers the insurgency a domestic issue for Thailand but is worried it could spill across the border.

Syed warned earlier of the danger that international terrorists might use the unrest to orchestrate violence. Bangkok rejected the concerns.

The two leaders will resume talks in a formal setting in Bangkok today.

The agenda includes bilateral development and the Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Triangle project, according to a Foreign Ministry source.

Abdullah departs tomorrow.

Meanwhile, in the South yesterday, three people were killed in a Yala shooting and another injured in an attack on a train in Narathiwat.

Three Muslims in Yala's Than To district were shot dead about 7.30am while riding to work at a rubber plantation. Duramae Samae, his wife Sitisohroh Nimu and mother-in-law Koriya Baha were found dead on a back road.

Police believe insurgents seeking to keep tensions high were responsible.

A State Railway of Thailand official was injured when suspected militants sprayed automatic rifle fire at a train travelling through Narathiwat's Rangae district.

Police said insurgents ambushed the train as it left Ban Salotadae station. It was travelling from Yala to Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat.

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation