Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said that Malaysia should offer asylum to Thai Muslim refugees who fled violence in their homeland.

"Well, I think if the people are real refugees, then we need to give them some asylum," Mahathir told reporters.

The United Nations refugee agency Tuesday started interviewing 131 Thai Muslims sheltering in Malaysia after they fled southern Thailand last week, despite opposition from Bangkok.

It also urged Malaysia not to deport them until the interviews are completed to find out if their lives would be at risk if they are returned to Thailand.

If the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees believes the Muslims' lives are threatened, they will be issued with UNHCR protection cards until they can return safely to Thailand.

Mahathir also said his proposal last October that Thailand should consider giving autonomy to its southern Muslim provinces to reduce violence had not been well received by Thai authorities.

"I think it was not a welcome idea as far as the Thais are concerned. I made the suggestions thinking that it would be something that would help solve the problem," he said.

Left when army arrived

Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai Tuesday had urged the UN refugee agency not to take up the case of the Thai Muslims.

"These people are not refugees and it's unlikely the UNHCR needs to get involved," he told reporters.

Surakiart said Thai consular officials would meet the refugees in a bid to resolve the issue.

The undocumented Thai Muslims fled into Malaysia's Kelantan state, saying they had left their villages in Thailand's Narathiwat province after the army arrived.

Malaysia has given temporary shelter to the Thais pending investigation of their status and reasons for leaving, but has voiced concern over the prospect of more Thais fleeing across the border.

Nearly 900 people have been killed in the past 20 months in Thailand's southernmost provinces, in attacks which analysts and authorities blame on Islamic separatists, organised criminals and drug dealers.