Malaysia denies restaurants fund Thai separatists: report

KUALA LUMPUR - Predominantly Muslim Malaysia has rejected a claim by Thailand that Thai restaurants here are funding a southern Thai separatist movement, a report said Wednesday.

Deputy Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow described the allegation by Thailand's Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont as "baseless", the New Straits Times reported.

"It is very imaginative of him. It is absolutely baseless. These restaurants are owned by Malaysians and Thais," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Agence France-Presse