Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said he was "concerned" over the plight of boat people trying to reach Malaysian shores, but did not spell out plans to resolve the humanitarian crisis.

In post on his blog, Najib said the foreign affairs ministry and national security council are "taking the necessary actions to deal with this humanitarian crisis".

"This is an issue of international and regional importance. We are in contact with all relevant parties, with whom we share the desire to find a solution to this crisis.

"Malaysia does not and will not tolerate any form of Human Trafficking. Anyone found to be perpetrating this injustice and contravening our laws will be held accountable," said Najib in the four-paragraph statement.

Activists estimate 8,000 people from East Bangladesh and the Rakhine state, Myanmar are currently stranded in the Andaman Sea while en route to Malaysia.

This follows the crippling of a human trafficking ring by the Thai police, blocking off staging points for their transfer to Malaysia.

Malaysian, Thai and Indonesian authorities have been turning away these boats from their shores after providing some provisions and repairs to damaged vessels.

This has created an international outcry, with much of the criticism directed at Malaysia as the chair of Asean, for a policy which essentially meant leaving the boat people to die at sea .

Critics claim that Asean is not acting tough on Myanmar, who is accused of persecuting its Rohingya minority.

Asean ministerial meet in Oct

Some of Najib's cabinet members have made it clear that Putrajaya does not welcome the boat people as allowing them to settle in Malaysia would set the wrong precedent.

Earlier this week, about 1,000 boat people landed in Langkawi and were rounded up by the authorities.

In a separate statement, the foreign affairs ministry saidi Malaysians will hold a meeting with Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh soon to resolve issues concerning illegal immigration and human trafficking.

The ministry added that Asean is working towards adopting the Asean Convention on Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP) and its corresponding "Regional Plan of Action (RPA)", which it dubbed an "action-oriented document".

The RPA would be submitted to the 10th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) on September 1 in Kuala Lumpur.

"The convention is developed with a view to achieving a regionally agreeable framework on collaboration among Asean Member States on investigation and prosecution of trafficking in persons' cases as well as on providing assistance to the victims for their safe return, rehabilitation and reintegration into their respective societies, among others."