Malaysia announced today that a new cabinet-level committee to tackle the influx of Filipino immigrants illegally entering Sabah.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the issue of illegal migrants and stateless people in Sabah was a longstanding problem that had to be resolved.

"In Sabah, the problem is rather complex. Some of these immigrants, when they come into our country, they destroy all their documents," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

"When we want to send them back, their country of origin will not accept them, but we know they should be returned to their own country. So this is a big problem," said Najib, who will chair the committee.

Difficult to resolve

Up to half a million Filipinos live in Malaysia, many of them families of refugees who fled a separatist rebellion in the Mindanao region of the southern Philippines in the 1970s.

The Philippine government has estimated that up to 200,000 are living in Malaysia illegally, mostly in Sabah, which lies close to the southern Philippines and shares cultural ties.

Malaysia and the Philippines have long been in discussions to resolve the illegal immigration issue and Najib admitted the situation would be difficult to resolve.

"We will do our best but it is not going to be easy because they are intertwined with the local community," he said.