A Philippines taskforce will arrive in Malaysia tomorrow to investigate alleged harsh treatment of migrant workers at detention centres, amid a temporary halt to the deportation of illegal Filipinos, a top diplomat said today.

Philippines ambassador Jose Brillantes told AFP the four-man team lead by Nur Jaafar would visit detention centers in Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan in the eastern Sabah state.

"Their mandate is to check the conditions at the detention centres and report to President Gloria Arroyo," he said.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday Malaysia will temporarily halt the deportation of illegal Filipino workers to clear up claims they are being mistreated.

The Philippines wanted to send a team to check the conditions at the detention centres where the illegal migrants are held before being deported, he said.

"They can come here. If they are satisfied that we are not ill treating them, then we will continue to send them back. There is nothing disagreeable about our deportation plan," Mahathir added.

This follows an outcry in the Philippines about the alleged poor treatment of deportees which prompted Arroyo to telephone Mahathir on Friday.

Death reports not true

Mahathir said Malaysia had treated the Filipinos well, adding that the reports of deaths were not true.

Social workers in the Philippines say three babies died during the mass deportation and many of those sent back suffered from dehydration and respiratory infections.

Thousands of mostly-Muslim Filipino migrants have arrived in the southern Philippines in recent days following Malaysia's August 1 introduction of tough laws against illegal immigrants, with punishments including a mandatory six-month jail term and up to six strokes of the cane.

There have been protests in Indonesia and the Philippines this week over the alleged harsh treatment of the deportees by Malaysia.

The International Organisation for Migration on Friday called on Malaysia to slow down a mass expulsion of migrant workers.

More than 300,000 illegal workers, mainly from Indonesia, were earlier sent home under a fourth-month amnesty ahead of the introduction of the new laws.