An academic has criticised the government's 6P programme for not solving the problem of illegal migrant workers, but on the contrary encourages their entry.

"In my research I often meet them (migrant workers) who say, it doesn't matter, we will go home first, then tomorrow we can return as tourists.

"After that we can go back to work (in their local jobs).

"We'll just wait for the amnesty to come," revealed professor Azizah Kassim from Felo Institut Kajian Malaysia dan Antarabangsa (Ikmas) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

She was speaking at a press conference during the national professorial conference 'Nation's Dilemma: Challenges of Illegal Workers in Malaysia' in Kuala Lumpur today.

The government announced its 6P programme calling it the solution to the country's illegal foreign workers problem.

As the name suggests, it entails six procedures: registration, legalisation, amnesty, monitoring, authorisation and expulsion (pendaftaran, pemutihan, pengampunan, pemantauan, penguatkuasaan, pengusiran).

6P led to foreign worker boom

Azizah said with the 6P programme, the country's illegal workers problem can never be solved.

This is because the illegals who are legitimised through the programme may stop paying their levies, and end up as illegals once more.

"The legalisation process (under 6P) may change their status from illegal to legal workers, but the following year, would they still pay their levies?

"Perhaps not, they may then go back to being illegals. So the problem never gets solved," she said.

In fact, said the professor, as a result of the 6P's legalisation programme, the number of foreign workers in the country has ballooned dramatically.

"The number of foreign works registered here has leaped to 2.2 million because of the 6P programme," she said.