Malaysia said today it was confident of halting the flow of illegal migrants to Australia, after introducing tough penalties for smugglers using the country as a transit point.

Malaysia can now impose harsh sentences including jail terms of up to 20 years, and fines of up to RM1 million on people smugglers, under an amendment to human trafficking laws passed yesterday.

Last year up to 10,000 migrants from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Burma and Iraq were said to be massing in Malaysia waiting for passage to Australia by people smugglers - a hot political issue for Australian leaders.

"We are confident that we will be able to curb boatpeople from going to Australia," Muhamad Khair Razman Mohamed Annuar, a senior Home Ministry official, told a news conference.

"Previously people smuggling was not covered under anti-human trafficking or immigration laws so there was a grey area making it difficult for our enforcement agency," said the ministry's international division head.

Razman said there had been no new cases of boatpeople succeeding in reaching Australia via the Malaysian route since the two countries launched a joint eradication effort late last year.

"(The syndicates) might have been compelled to change their route," Razman said, adding that the new laws against people smuggling are expected to come into force by the end of October.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak admitted last year that the country was being used as a transit point for illegal migrants.

Immigration is a sensitive issue in Australia, where boatloads of refugees arrive after perilous voyages from Asia, often in rickety fishing vessels, as they escape areas hit by conflict and economic hardship.

- AFP