Malaysia will seek cooperation from neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the country, following a recent mass deportation exercise, a junior minister said Saturday.

"We will request Indonesia and the Philippines to beef up security, especially in waters off Sabah," Deputy Defence Minister Mohamed Shafie Apdal was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Eastern Sabah state on Borneo island shares a land and sea border with the two Southeast Asian countries.

Mohamed said the measures were to prevent deported illegal immigrants from sneaking back into Malaysia through their common border.