(AFP) Fears that Malaysia will deport a Burmese pro-democracy activist remained real as the UN refugee agency said it has yet to interview him in police custody.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said it wants to interview Peter Hee Man to assess whether he should be granted refugee status in Malaysia.

"We are trying to get the UN protection officer to interview him next week," a UNHCR official said.

The UNHCR and human rights groups have urged the government not to deport Hee Man as they fear for the activist's safety at the hands of Burma's ruling military junta.

Hee Man and three Malaysians were arrested on March 27 after some 20 activists gatecrashed a Burmese embassy party and stripped off to reveal T-shirts emblazoned with the image of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest in Rangoon since September.

The three Malaysians were detained overnight and then released. One of them, K P Lee of the Burma Solidarity Group Malaysia, urged the UNHCR not to delay the interview.

"Time is running out. Hee Man has been in custody for almost a week. Any further delay will put him in danger of deportation. He may be classified as illegal and deported," he said.

Lee said that UNHCR protection officer Shinji Kubo, who has the authority to accord Hee Man refugee status, had told him earlier today that the UNHCR has not been able to fix an interview date with Hee Man.

Kubo is away attending a seminar in the eastern state of Sabah on Borneo island.

Deportation fears

Lee said Hee Man told him he while they were being held together that he fears deportation.

"His intention is to be safely resettled in a third country. Being deported to Burma is something he does not want," he said.

The human rights group Aliran said last week that to deport Hee Man would be "an inhuman act that would condemn him to torture or even death at the hands of the ruthless Burmese military junta."

Another rights group Altsean-Burma said it also had "grave concerns" for the safety of Hee Man should he fall into the hands of Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council.