No jungle camps to training militants in Malaysia: Najib

No jungle camps to training militants in Malaysia: Najib

Reuters, Kuala Lumpur/Bangkok

There are no jungle training camps for militants in Malaysia,
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Wednesday, firing off
the latest volley in a row over Muslim militants stirring up
violence in southern Thailand.

Thailand says it has photographs showing militants responsible
for the violence being trained in hideouts in Malaysia. About 500
people have been killed since the militant campaign began in
Thailand in January.

Najib urged Bangkok to hand over the evidence it had.

"Our stand is that we have no information as alleged by them,"
Najib told a news conference. "There is no camp in the northern
part of the peninsula to train militants."

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra upset Malaysia and
Indonesia by saying Thai militants had trained in the jungles
along the border with Malaysia and had been exposed to radical
ideas in Indonesia, where members of Jamaah Islamiyah, regarded
as the regional arm of al-Qaeda, have launched bomb attacks.

Thaksin said the Malaysian and Indonesian governments had
never supported the militants and were cooperating with Bangkok,
but his weekend remarks angered them, drawing a shocked denial
from Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who asked
for evidence to support the claims.

"If the Thai government has information, it's better for them
to inform the Malaysian government through official channels in
confidence," Najib said, speaking after a weekly cabinet meeting.

"To us, this is outside the international norms because this
involves sensitive information. Sensitive information should be
handled appropriately."

But Malaysia has no plans to respond with an official protest,
or by closing the border with Thailand, Najib added.

"We want good ties with Thailand to continue. We hope they
handle this case with care," he said. "It is incumbent upon them
to give us the information rather than for us to go to them."

Najib said he did not know how Thai authorities obtained the
pictures of militants in training camps that Thai deputy interior
minister Sutham Saengprathum referred to on Tuesday, in remarks
to journalists.

Sutham did not show reporters the pictures or describe them,
but he said they proved militants had received training in
Malaysia's northern Kelantan province, just across the border.
Later, he told Reuters the pictures had been taken by Thai agents
this year with the help of Malaysian intelligence.

"According to our knowledge, there are about 10 ringleaders in
Kelantan state," he said.

Bangkok has said several times over the past 11 months that
militants flee to Malaysia after carrying out attacks.

More than 300 schools were closed in southern Thailand on
Wednesday, as staff demanded better security a day after gunmen
riding motorcycles killed two Buddhist teachers and a district
official in Pattani province.