Malaysia said today that military might would not alone solve the deadly unrest in Thailand's Muslim south and it was considering a request to send moderate Islamic preachers to the area.

Kuala Lumpur would also not shelter those involved in the violence, in which about 180 people have been killed since January, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said, amid reports that suspects may have crossed the border.

"Military force should not be the only solution when a situation like this arises," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who was part of a Malaysian delegation in Bangkok yesterday for talks on the unrest, told reporters.

The "best approach" involved speeding up economic development in Buddhist Thailand's Muslim south to wipe out poverty, he said.

Thailand has been accused of using excessive force in trying to quell the violence, which peaked on Wednesday last week when 108 militants were killed when they mounted disastrous raids on armed police stations and checkpoints.

Thirty-two of them were killed when security forces, who had been prepared for the attacks, stormed a mosque. Five security force members were also killed in what was one of the worst days of violence in recent Thai history.

Spread moderate Islam

Syed Hamid said Malaysia may send Islamic preachers to Thailand's three Muslim provinces just across its border to try to spread a more moderate brand of Islam and counter extremist teachings and militancy.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who led the mission to Bangkok, was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had asked for the dispatch of the preachers.

"We are evaluating the possibility of sending credible religious preachers to deliver sermons and to explain to the Muslims in south Thailand the true teachings of Islam, the need for them to reject extremism and religious interpretations which lean towards militancy," he said.

Najib said there was no direct evidence of a link between the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network to the violence in southern Thailand.

"We know one of (top terror suspect) Hambali's operatives comes from that area. There is a possibility that they are getting some sort of support but there is no real hard evidence of al-Qaeda involvement in the area, according to the Thai authorities," he said.

The JI, a network of regional militants believed to be fronting for al-Qaeda, is blamed for the October 2002 bombings in Bali that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, and a series of other deadly attacks in the region.

Hambali, a leading JI figure, has been in US custody since his arrest in Thailand in August.

Four suspects identified

Malaysian newspapers said Thai police handed their Malaysian counterparts yesterday a list of militants suspected of involvement in the violence.

The Malay Mail said four of the suspects - Nasori Saesaeng, Masae Useng, Karim Karubang and Jaeku Mae Kuteh - were believed to have fled to Malaysia after masterminding a Jan 4 raid on a military camp.

Najib reiterated that Malaysia would not shelter militants.

"If they are on the wanted list, they will be detained. Malaysia has never and will never be a safe haven for militants, criminals and extremists," he said. - AFP