Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today he had been told to back off from his role as intermediary in the Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand.

"I would like to do things further but I am advised that I should have a low profile because a high profile is not very welcome," he told a press conference.

"They said I am not too welcome," he said, but declined to reveal who had issued the "indirect advice".

"[It is] difficult for me to say because this involves other governments also," he said.

Mahathir revealed in October that he had brokered talks in late 2005 between Thai officials and Muslim groups from Thailand's south to help resolve the conflict on Malaysia's doorstep.

Willing and ready

Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, who was appointed in a coup last September, expressed optimism over the talks and said they were a "good sign".

The government of mainly-Muslim Malaysia has volunteered to play a bigger role in resolving the three-year insurgency which has left 1,800 people dead.

However, its relationship with Mahathir has become increasingly strained in the past year as the former leader, who stepped down three years ago, has made strident attacks on the administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Mahathir said Monday that he would be willing to meet with separatist leaders again.

"If they ask me, they want to talk to me, they want to meet, then I'll meet. I'm not going to have any publicity or anything like that," he said.