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.