Malaysia's former prime minister told Thai leaders he did not support total autonomy for troubled southern Thailand during talks focused on the growing insurgency there, Thai officials said today.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad last year urged Thailand to consider giving autonomy to the south in a bid to reduce the violence that has killed at least 1,035 people since January 2004.

But the suggestion angered Thai officials who have rejected any sort of self-rule in the Muslim-majority provinces bordering Malaysia.

"I have discussed with Mahathir his remarks on autonomy, which he said does not mean total independence, but still being governed by the central government," said Anand Panyarachun, former Thai prime minister and Chairperson of National Reconciliation Commission, formed to find solutions to the problems in the south.

"I have told him that the Thai people are not happy with this," he said today after private talks with Mahathir.

Mahathir arrived in Thailand Monday for talks with top Thai officials, including Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, amid a lingering diplomatic row fueled by Thailand's Islamic insurgency.

Talking is good

A key point in the discussions was the flight of 131 Thai Muslims across the border to Malaysia in August. Thailand has urged Malaysia to return the Thais, but Mahathir suggested earlier they be given asylum, further inflaming ties between the neighbours.

Mahathir, who Tuesday characterised his visit as "calling on an old friend", refused to comment on what he called "internal issues".

But he did say "as long as the leaders are talking to each other it is good ... I think that anything that would revive relations is good".

Later Tuesday Mahathir is expected to have an audience with Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej in the coastal resort town of Hua Hin.

His visit came amid continuing violence in the south, with two more people killed overnight by suspected Islamic militants who control vast sections of the largely rural southern provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.

Security analysts have warned the situation there could spread and destabilise Southeast Asia if not properly handled.