KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s deputy prime minister on Tuesday said Kuala Lumpur was in talks with Thailand over the fate of 11 Uighur Muslims held in the country after escaping from a Thai detention centre last year. Reuters reported this month that Malaysia had detained 11 ethnic Uighurs from China – among a group of 20 who escaped from Thailand in November – and that Beijing was in talks with Malaysia over their deportation. Malaysia was under “great pressure” from China to hand them over to Beijing, and not to Thailand, sources told Reuters. Malaysia later said it had received an official request from China for the extradition of the 11. “We are discussing the situation with Thailand… We will take action that will not upset any other country and the decision will hopefully be the best course of action,” said Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the Malaysian deputy prime minister. “We will hold further negotiations that will touch on issues of diplomacy and security of the countries involved,” he told reporters, adding that Malaysia would also take into account the views of human rights groups. Published in Daily Times, February 21st 2018.