A Philippine team arrived today in Sabah to check on conditions at deportation camps where Filipino illegal migrants have accused the authorities of ill-treatment.

The seven-man delegation, led by President Gloria Arroyo's adviser on Muslim affairs Nur Jaafar, expressed confidence Malaysia would support the team's objectives and called for understanding on the issue that has strained relations between the Southeast Asian neighbours.

"We can't ask Malaysia not to enforce its laws (to deport the migrants) but we are seeking some leniency from the authorities," he told reporters on arrival from Manila.

Jaafar said the team would meet Malaysian officials to find ways to resolve the issue amicably.

Jaafar said the team would also seek ways to simplify the deportation exercise, adding that the Filipino migrants could be ferried home from Kota Kinabalu and Tawau instead of just through Sandakan.

The trip was ordered by Arroyo following claims by Filipinos deported home that they had been abused at the holding centres for illegal immigrants in the state on Borneo island.

The Philippine's team is to visit three detention centres and meet Sabah chief minister Chong Kah Kiat tomorrow.

The camps, each of which can hold 1,000 people, are in the capital Kota Kinabalu, and in the towns of Sandakan and Tawau on the east coast near the southern Philippines.

Chong said that while the repatriation exercise was temporarily suspended, the operation to arrest illegal immigrants would continue.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, faced with the burning of the Malaysian flag by protestors in both Manila and the Indonesian capital Jakarta, granted a request by Arroyo for the inspection of camps.

Thousands of Filipinos have been deported following Malaysia's introduction last month of tough laws against illegal migrants.

Officials in the Philippines have alleged that at least three Filipino children died during the deportation exercise. AFP