(AFP) The government has decided on a tentative date in mid-January to send Muslim rebel leader Nur Misuari back to the Philippines, a top official said today.

Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, secretary-general of the foreign ministry, confirmed reports quoting Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar as saying Misuari may remain in Malaysia until the middle of next month.

"As what was said by the minister, in mid-January or some time next month, that is the tentative date as it is for now," Ahmad Fuzi told AFP .

Syed Hamid said late yesterday that Manila was currently unable to take custody of Misuari for security reasons, but stressed that Malaysia was eager to deport the rebel leader and was only holding him on behalf of the Philippines.

"We still hold on to the understanding that he must be deported as soon as possible... the sooner, the better, because we do not want to be in limbo," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily.

"Nur Misuari is neither a refugee nor an asylum seeker. The most important thing now is that we already have an agreement... which is to deport him.

"The timing for his deportation is just an administrative matter," the foreign minister said after returning from a meeting in Manila to discuss Misuari's fate.

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo yesterday rejected an appeal from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference for Misuari to be given sanctuary in a third country and instead vowed to put him on trial for rebellion.

Rallying point

Arroyo's government was reportedly unhappy about taking Misuari back immediately for fear he could become a rallying point for Muslim discontent in the southern Philippines.

His followers launched an uprising in the southern Philippine island of Jolo last month in a futile attempt to derail elections that ended Misuari's five-year hold on the governorship of a Muslim self-rule region.

Misuari fled after the short-lived rebellion, and was arrested with six followers off an island in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island on Nov 24.

The Arroyo government had earlier floated the idea of sending Misuari to Libya to head off a violent backlash by his supporters, but stressed yesterday that this was no longer on the table.