PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia) Dec 16: Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Sunday said Malaysia will deport rebel leader Nur Misuari to a third country if the Philippines declines to take him back.

“If Manila does not want to accept him, we will be forced to send him to another place,” the 75-year-old Mahathir told reporters at his official residence in Putrajaya, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Mahathir said Malaysia had no right to detain Misuari since he had not violated any laws, adding that since he has no travel documents, he cannot remain in the country.

The premier said he was not aware if any country had indicated an interest in granting asylum to the renegade Muslim leader.

“I do not know if there is a third country that wants to accept him,” Mahathir said.

Misuari has filed for asylum with the UN refugee agency through his lawyer in Washington so that he will not be returned to anywhere that will endanger his freedom and life.

Mahathir said he has not met the special envoy of President Gloria Arroyo, Norberto Gonzales, who has been dispatched to Malaysia Thursday to arrange the handover of Misuari to Manila.

It is believed Misuari would be repatriated around Christmas.

The 60-year-old former separatist guerrilla leader was arrested in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah three weeks ago for illegal entry.

He fled there after Filipino troops crushed an armed rebellion by his followers in the southern Philippines island of Jolo.

Misuari faces rebellion charges, punishable by 20 years in prison, for allegedly instigating the latest rebellion that claimed more than 100 lives.

OIC TAKE CUSTODY: The leader of the Philippines’ largest Muslim separatist group has asked the influential Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to take custody of renegade Muslim chief Nur Misuari, a spokesman for the group said Sunday.