"We should consider the idea of having an international observer involved, because this would enhance credibility and transparency," Pulo foreign-affairs chief Kasturi Mahkota told The Nation in a telephone interview from Western Europe.

He said Pulo welcomed reports of Thailand and Malaysia working together to bring peace to the deep South but fell short of clarifying whether he thought Kuala Lumpur could be an honest broker in the talks.

Malaysia's state-run Bernama News Agency quoted that country's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying the Thai government would make a formal request to Kuala Lumpur to help mediate dialogue between the Bangkok and the separatists.

Bernama quoted Abdullah as saying, "We know the separatist groups, in the sense that they are Muslims, of Malay descent and that Malaysia has good relations with Thailand."

Violence in the deep South was high on the agenda of Abdullah's three-day official visit to Thailand.

In late 2005, former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed helped facilitate talks between leaders of long-standing separatist groups and senior Thai security officials on the island of Langkawi.

A set of proposals was given to the Thaksin administration last February, but no further action was taken.

It was not clear whether any future dialogue would involve the "old guard" who had taken part in the Langkawi talks. The extent of their influence on the militants on the ground behind the daily violence is still unclear, raising questions about whether the daily violence can be curbed.

Other officials suggested that dialogue with the old guard should centre on reconciliatory issues, such as their right to return to their birthplace in the deep South.

Exiled leaders, speaking to The Nation in telephone interviews yesterday, said it was essential that future discussions involved them, because "many of these men have valuable experience on the ground and abroad to contribute".

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the Muslim-majority south, where a new generation of militants have emerged on the scene and carried out daily attacks.

Bernama reported Abdullah as saying he was confident that measures taken by the current Thai government would be continued by the next administration.

"Surely, the measures taken are long-term ones that need to be continued, so I don't see why the next government would want to make changes when the measures are progressing well," Bernama quoted Abdullah as saying.

The current military-installed government is expected to step down by the end of the year.

Abdullah said Surayud was serious about wanting to end the southern violence and that he was prepared to listen to suggestions about how Malaysia could assist, Bernama said.

Don Pathan

The Nation