JAKARTA: Thousands of Indonesian illegal migrant workers trying to return home from Malaysia under an amnesty deal are falling prey to scalpers extorting cash for travel documents, an Indonesian minister said today.

Justice Minister Hamid Awaludin said many would-be returneees were deterred by a scam in which Indonesians were being forced to buy papers at three times their value by touts threatening to report them to authorities.

Under a 17-day amnesty programme to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Malaysia hopes 400,000 people, mainly Indonesians working illegally, will head home.

Those who stay face jail sentences of up to five years, fines of up to RM10,000 and whipping.

"The problem is that these Indonesian workers have become victims of extortion and fraud by our own brothers," Awaludin said after meeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to report on a visit to the Indonesia-Malaysia border.

So far only some 20,000 illegal Indonesian workers have left Malaysia, Awaludin said, adding many of them opted to stay in Malaysia due to bad experiences with scalpers.

Large banners

Awaludin told reporters he had ordered large banners to be placed at Malaysian ports detailing clear instructions on how to obtain the travel documents.

Yudhoyono was "very concerned" over the repatriation of the illegal migrants, said Information Minister Sofyan Jalil at the same press briefing.

Malaysia's home affairs minister Azmi Khalid said last Friday that Indonesia would send two naval vessels to Malaysia on Monday to help the repatriation.

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