Malaysia and the Philippines held high-level talks yesterday on what the two sides described as a growing problem of Filipino migration to their neighbour to the southwest.

"Both sides agreed that the opportunities brought about by Filipino migration to Malaysia are attended by new and emerging challenges, which call for an even greater cooperation between the two countries," a joint statement said.

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 Philippines in the 1970s. Others work as maids or plantation workers.

Manila estimates that up to 200,000 are living in Malaysia illegally, mostly in Sabah state, which lies close to Mindanao and shares cultural ties. Kuala Lumpur has launched a number of mass deportations.

Issues on the table

Philippines Foreign Undersecretary Estaban Conejos and Ab Rashid Mat Adam, deputy secretary-general of the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs said the two panels discussed, among other issues, "illegal Filipino migrants and their children in Malaysia, repatriation of illegal Filipino migrants from Malaysia, and border control and immigration issues".

The Filipino side proposed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on labour, as well as an "induction course" for Filipino workers bound for Malaysia to "reduce conflicts between employers and employees resulting from cultural and linguistic differences".

Malaysia pledged "that fees of employment agencies would be reduced to the barest minimum," while at the same time it "requested the deferment of discussion on the issues of the induction course requirement and the regulation of fees of employment agencies," the statement added.