The government said it will not hand over the 131 Thai Muslims who fled across the border last month unless their rights are guaranteed by the Thailand.

"We will not release them to Thailand except if we have an assurance that their human rights are not being infringed upon by the Thai government," said Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.

"We have not decided what to do (with them)... this depends on proof against them later and whatever assurance of their future," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Najib said any decision which mainly Muslim Malaysia made about the Thais, such as sending them to a third country, would be based on the principles of human rights and the rule of law.

The refugees, mostly from Thailand's southern Narathiwat province, crossed into Malaysia in late August saying they feared for their lives in the region which is in the grip of an Islamic separatist insurgency and other violence.

Their action triggered a diplomatic spat between the neighbours.

Temporary shelter

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

The United Nations refugee agency has interviewed the 131, despite protests from Thailand which said they included militants as well as innocent people who were duped into fleeing in order to "internationalise" the conflict.

On Monday Thai authorities said about half of the group wanted to return, but that they were waiting for the UN to finish interviewing them at a holding centre in Malaysia before deciding what action to take.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has remained tight-lipped about the situation and and not announced any date for releasing its decision on the status of the 131.

"We believe any public declaration on these individual cases would just complicate an already difficult situation," spokesman Ron Redmond said Tuesday.

Since January 2004 the Thai south has been rocked by more than 950 deaths. Authorities blame the violence on a complex web of Islamic separatists, organized crime and local corruption.