Riot squads are on guard at major exit points in the country ahead of an amnesty deadline for illegal workers who face whipping and jail if they don't leave, police said Monday.

"We have placed riot police and water cannon trucks on standby because the number of illegal workers is so huge that anything can happen," said a spokesman for Johor state police headquarters.

As the deadline for the four-month amnesty nears, thousands have camped out at Johor's Stulang Laut jetty, one of the major exit points in the country, hoping to get a ferry home, the official said.

"It is similar all over the country - they are desperate and because they came so late, there are many who won't be able to buy tickets in time," he told AFP .

The officer said authorities were "not taking any chances" and had already deployed riot police and trucks to monitor security at the major sites.

"Of course we are afraid - who knows what they will do, out of fear or panic, once the end of the amnesty comes and they still have no tickets home."

He said some 15,000 Indonesian illegal immigrants were expected to converge on Stulang Laut in the next two days.

Two-week extension

On Friday, the government announced an extension of two weeks after the end of the amnesty for illegal immigrants who had applied to return home but were unable to secure seats on aircraft or ferries by Wednesday.

More than 230,000 out of an estimated minimum of 600,000 illegal migrants have already been deported from the country's 24 exit points, with Indonesians, who make up the bulk of Malaysia's migrant population, accounting for more than 80 percent of this total.

Under the new immigration laws which come into effect Aug 1, anyone found guilty of illegal entry or harbouring illegal immigrants will face a mandatory six months in jail and possibly up to six strokes of the cane.

Currently, offenders face up to five years' jail or a fine of not more than RM10,000, but courts mostly impose fines.

In Sabah, where more than 100,000 Filipinos live and work illegally, the migrants have been slow in responding to the voluntary repatriation plan despite the deportation of 10,000 in a crackdown ahead of the amnesty.

About 3,000 workers are reported to have returned home throughout the four-month amnesty, and Philippines embassy second secretary Giovanni Palec said an additional 5,000 migrants would be able to take advantage of the government's two-week grace period after the amnesty deadline.

But he feared that thousands more would be stranded.

Palec was quoted by the Star newspaper as saying twice-daily ferry services between the state and the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga were insufficient to accommodate the return of nearly 5,000 Filipino's who had already obtained travel documents.

While the government says illegal immigrants have contributed to a growth in crime and other social problems, the tough new line is also seen as a bid to protect jobs for locals in a time of economic hardship. — AFP