Steps Being Taken to Stabilise Southern Thailand Region, says Malaysian PM

From A. Shanty Devi VLADIVOSTOK, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Thailand is taking steps to stabilise its southern region, said Prime Minister Najib Razak following a bilateral meeting with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on the sidelines of the ongoing APEC 2012 Economic Leaders Meeting, here. He said that during his meeting with Shinawatra, he was informed that the steps taken were focused on education, training and the provision of assistance to small traders in the region. Suspected insurgents burned Thai flags and raised Malaysian flags in their place in a coordinated operation on Aug 31 across Thailand's Muslim-dominated south that also saw the militants plant bombs that wounded six soldiers, according to officials. The unrest came on the anniversary of the 1989 founding of an umbrella separatist group that combined four Thai separatist movements, as well as the anniversary of Malaysia's independence from British rule. Najib said Malaysia had also indicated that it would be cooperating with Thailand on the issue of rubber pricing, with the fall in the price of the commodity. "We need to work together (on this) with Indonesia, under the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC)," he said, adding that a joint commission foreign ministers meeting would be held next month on the matter. Briefing Malaysian journalists here on the outcome of his bilateral meetings with several state leaders here Saturday, Najib said the Thailand-Kedah border areas also had good potential for further development. He said that during the meeting with Shinawatra, he had also discussed how to develop a "Rubber City" there with rubber based industries as the basis. Other industries, such as energy-related, would be also looked into, he added. -- BERNAMA