(AFP) The government is negotiating with Singapore and Thailand to eliminate the use of passports as part of efforts to boost tourism.

According to reports today, travellers to Malaysia will be able to use a traveller's card or their identification card to get into the country to simplify customs and immigration procedures at border checkpoints, Bernama news agency quoted home ministry secretary-general Aseh Che Mat as saying.

Aseh said the home ministry would issue a special card to Thai citizens frequently travelling to Malaysia which they could use instead of a passport.

He said Malaysians travelling to neighbouring Singapore and vice versa would also no longer need to bring along their passports but would only need their identity cards.

Extended hours

Malaysia was also studying the possibility of extending the opening hours at all border checkpoints with Thailand and considering issuing visas to foreign tourists entering the country through Thailand, he said.

Aseh said the moves were vital in view of the growing number of tourists from Thailand.

Aseh said several officer-level meetings had been held between Malaysia and Singapore and an official decision was expected when the republic's home minister visits Kuala Lumpur in May.

Tourism is a key revenue earner for Malaysia but the sector has taken a beating since the Sept 11 terror attacks in the United States, when the number of travellers to Asia declined sharply.