Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was visiting Thailand, suggested Tuesday that Malaysia is "well-placed" to be a mediator to help the Thai government negotiate with the Muslim separatists in the kingdom's restive south.

The Thai News Agency reported, quoting Malaysia's official Bernama news agency, that the Malaysian premier said Malaysia had the capacity and ability to mediate in the issue as it understood the situation in Thailand's Muslim-majority deep south and the Thai Government's stand to end the continuing violence.

"Moreover, we know the separatist groups, in the sense that they are Muslims, of Malay descent, and Malaysia has good relations with Thailand," he was quoted as speaking to Malaysian journalists at the end of his three-day visit to Thailand.

Abdullah left for Kuala Lumpur Tuesday morning after holding informal talks with his Thai counterpart Surayud Chulanont in Thailand's southern resort Phuket province on Sunday and formal discussions in Bangkok on Monday, which focused on joint efforts to solve the insurgency in Thailand's far south.

Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the violence in the Thailand's southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat over the past three years. The violence is continuing unabated despite several conciliatory measures taken by the Surayud-led interim government.

Asked whether Thailand had asked Malaysia to mediate with the separatist groups, Abdullah said the Thai Government will make a formal request, according to Bernama.

Among joint measures taken to end the violence is tackling the dual citizenship problem, he said, adding that Malaysia and Thailand have each submitted 500 names and biometric information last week to trace people who hold both Thai and Malaysian citizenships.

The tracing process will take about a week, said Abdullah, who is also Internal Security Minister.

Source: Xinhua