Malaysia today said it will not tighten security at its border with southern Thailand despite worsening sectarian tensions involving its neighbour and a report Thai Muslims had fled to Malaysia.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak described the situation in insurgency-hit southern Thailand as "not worrying", and said Malaysia had adequate forces at its border.

"We have enough soldiers and policemen to handle the situation," Najib, also defence minister, told reporters.

"We are of course ever ready to assist, to help them in any way that they would like us to. But as far as the border situation is concerned, it's under control," he said.

A report over the weekend said a group of 24 Muslims from Thailand's mostly Muslim southern provinces had fled to Malaysia to escape alleged intimidation by the Thai military.

Another group of 130 Thai Muslims are already sheltering in majority Muslim Malaysia after fleeing over the border in 2005, an incident which led to a diplomatic tussle between the two countries over their fate.

Najib said he could not confirm the latest report about the 24 Thai Muslims, and warned against speculation.

"We have to establish the facts first. There are a lot of speculative reports and sometimes statements are made without any basis," he said.

Thailand and Malaysia agreed last month to boost cooperation in a bid to end three years of separatist unrest in the south of the majority Buddhist kingdom.

Stable environment

In the latest spate of violence, suspected Islamic separatists shot dead three Buddhists Monday in Thailand's south, while two Muslim boys were killed in an attack on an Islamic boarding school over the weekend.

Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said separately Monday that he would be discussing the violence in southern Thailand with his Thai counterpart Nitya Pibulsonggram, who is due in Malaysia on Thursday.

"The main topic is how we can work together in order to see whether we could be of help in any way," Syed Hamid told reporters.

"We will discuss about creating a stable environment in that area and what type of activities we can do together in terms of economic development," he said.