KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra was never in Malaysia or given any protection by the Special Branch as claimed, Tan Sri Musa Hassan said.

The Inspector-General of Police said the police had no knowledge of Thaksin's presence in the country, adding that they were only alerted by the Thai Embassy of his supposed presence here early this month, following a news report in Bangkok.

"As far as we are concerned, he was never in the country. We never sent 20 Special Branch officers to protect him. We checked with hotels and other sources and there is no evidence to show that he was ever here," he said in an interview.

An online news portal, which picked up the news from Thailand's The Nation newspaper, said that a pro-Thaksin radio station had conducted a telephone interview with Thaksin who said he was given protection as "Malaysia cared and loved him".

The paper also quoted Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Sennian as saying that the Malaysian government had co-operated with Thailand in planning to arrest Thaksin.

He also said that Thai embassy officials had informed Malaysian authorities to seek Thaksin's arrest and extradition.