Malaysia Will Not Allow Its Territory To Be Haven For Those Who Oppose Peace In Southern Thailand - Mohamed Khaled

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will not allow any part of its territory to be used as a refuge or hideout by parties resorting to violence and rejecting the peace process in southern Thailand.

Malaysia’s Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the Malaysian government was taking developments in southern Thailand seriously and remained committed to supporting efforts to bring peace to the neighbouring region.

“I want to stress that we will not allow our territory to be used as a refuge or hideout by any party that resorts to violence or rejects the peace process in southern Thailand.

“We will provide all cooperation to the Thai authorities to ensure this does not happen,” he told a press conference after launching the National Month and Fly the Jalur Gemilang campaign at the Ministry of Defence level here on Thursday. 

The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), he said, would continue to strengthen security and monitoring along the Malaysia-Thailand border to prevent incidents in southern Thailand from spilling over into the country.

“We will ensure that no elements infiltrate (Malaysia),” he said.

He also confirmed that the MAF had submitted several names to the Prime Minister for consideration as facilitators for the southern Thailand peace process, following the recent end of Mohd Rabin Basir’s tenure as the Malaysian Government’s facilitator.

“From the MAF, we have proposed several names for consideration, and we hope that a facilitator can be appointed so that we can help all parties work towards peace in southern Thailand.

“We know that this is not an easy task. We have been involved in this matter for a long time, and we also recognise that various groups and parties need to be brought together if we want to ensure that peace can be achieved,” he said.

Last Saturday, a curfew was imposed in Narathiwat from 10.15 pm to 6 am following more than 50 incidents, including bombings, the burning of local government offices and tyre burning.

The explosions in Narathiwat also shook homes and caused concern among residents along the Malaysia-Thailand border, including those in Kampung Lubok Gong and Kampung Tersang in Rantau Panjang.
-- BERNAMA