Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar today defended his right to speak out after a rebuke from his Thai counterpart, but said the squabble over the arrest of an alleged Muslim militant would not strain relations.

"Malaysia is a sovereign country and I as foreign minister have the right to state our position," he told a news conference. "It should not in any way sever or strain our diplomatic relations.

"I have got very good relations with the Thai foreign minister and the Malaysian prime minister has good relations with the Thai prime minister.

"I dont think this misunderstanding on what we have said should in any way mar the strong relationship between the two countries."

A minor war of words erupted last week after Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced to reporters that Malaysia had arrested the mastermind behind an upsurge in Muslim separatist violence in southern Thailand and said Bangkok would seek his extradition.

Malaysia had not announced the arrest, and Syed Hamid criticised Thaksin at a news conference, saying he should have followed diplomatic channels if he wanted an extradition rather than talking to the media.

"This is not the way to cooperate with each other," Syed Hamid said. "Whatever it is that needs to be done, there are proper channels between Malaysia and Thailand."

Inappropriate statement

The Thai foreign ministry then issued a statement saying it was "inappropriate" for the minister to have criticised another country's leader "in such a manner which is not constructive to their existing close relations".

Syed Hamid said the exchange of words would not hurt cooperation between the two countries against militants. "We'll act together in a very cooperative manner," he said.

The man under arrest has been identified by Malaysia as Abdul Rahman Ahmad, also known as Deraman Koteh, while Thaksin named him as Doramae Kuteh, also known as Chae Kumae Kuteh.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said last Thursday that the detained man was a Malaysian and was not believed to hold dual nationality.

"We have no extradition (treaty) with Thailand but if Thai authorities want to seek some help from us in whatever way, (if) they want to know the activities of this man, we will be able to cooperate," he said. "But we have to wait for the formal request from Thailand."