The government will allow foreign workers to enter the country on tourist visas and to seek employment provided local authorities have a record of their fingerprints.

Home Minister Azmi Khalid said the cabinet approved the new procedure at its weekly meeting aimed to ease the chronic shortage of workers after Malaysia launched a controversial crackdown to expel hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants from poverty-hit Asian countries in March.

The repatriation of about 400,000 illegal immigrants, mainly low-wage Indonesian workers, during a four-month amnesty that ended in March left a yawning labour gap in the agricultural, construction, manufacturing and services sectors.

Fingerprints to be taken

Azmi said biometric equipment would be installed at immigration offices throughout the country to verify the fingerprints of former illegal immigrants who may return to look for employment.

The cabinet accepted the procedure as the worker shortage in the country could become more serious if action was delayed, he said.

Malaysia is one of the largest importers of foreign labour in Asia. Foreign workers, both legal and illegal, number about 2.6 million of its 10.5 million workforce, officials say.