The government has extended a 17-day amnesty programme for illegal immigrants to leave the country without fear of being punished, a report said yesterday.

"The cabinet agrees to extend the amnesty period, the final date will be fixed following talks with the Indonesian government," Home Minister Azmi Khalid was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Malaysia began an amnesty programme for all illegal immigrants to return home during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan starting from Oct 29.

Indonesia's Manpower Minister Fahmi Idris recently met Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for talks, and had asked for the amnesty period to be extended to Dec 31.

Slow to respond

Illegal migrants were initially slow to respond to the amnesty, despite the threat of a nationwide hunt for illegals when the amnesty period ends.

Officials have said one of the reasons for the poor response could be that some employers were witholding the wages of the illegal workers, in some cases for up to six months.

To date, more than 60,000 illegals had left the country under the amnesty, Azmi said.

The government hoped at least 400,000 people, mainly Indonesians working illegally, would leave during the amnesty programme.

If they do not leave, they face jail sentences of up to five years or fines of up to RM10,000 ringgit, or both, plus whipping.

There are an estimated 1.2 million illegal immigrants in Malaysia, mainly from neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines, drawn by jobs in construction, plantation work and services.