Defence minister Najib Razak yesterday expressed hope that aborted peace talks between the Philippines and Muslim separatists in southern Philippines will be rescheduled soon.

Najib said Malaysia, which had played the role of a mediator, was disappointed that the second round of exploratory peace talks could not take place here as planned this week.

"We hope in due course the (peace talks) can be rescheduled. I am waiting for an official response from the Philippine government as to the reasons for the postponement," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

President Gloria Arroyo o­n Tuesday called off talks in Malaysia to resolve a rebellion in the southern Philippines, giving the military free rein to punish "terrorism" committed by Moro rebels.

Arroyo aborted the May 9-11 Kuala Lumpur meeting, which was to pave the way for talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) following attacks o­n Mindanao island that have left 83 dead and hundreds wounded since March.

Accept limited self-rule

Arroyo had hoped to use the influence of predominantly Muslim Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to convince the restive Filipino Muslims to stop their alleged support of terrorists, drop their independence bid and accept a government offer of limited self-rule in the south.

Najib said that peace talks cannot be held if both sides were fighting.

"It has been postponed until a suitable time. We'll call o­n both parties to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible," he said.

Najib said that Kuala Lumpur was committed to finding a solution to the crisis.

"Malaysia is committed to a long-term peace solution because the conflict has been dragging o­n for too long and the south is very impoverished," he said.

Last week, Najib said during a Manila visit that the MILF should stop seeking a separate state and instead work within the Philippine constitution for limited self rule.