Malaysia will not further extend an amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from tsunami-hit Indonesia and other countries, and will begin a crackdown on Feb 1, a report said today.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was quoted by The Star as saying the government had given foreigners enough time to respond after extending the amnesty period following the Dec 26 disaster that killed nearly 220,000 people.

"We are not closing the door on foreigners. They can come back here as legal workers," he said.

Police and various enforcement agencies would start operations to weed out illegal immigrants from next month, he added.

Some 320,000 illegal workers, mostly Indonesians, had so far taken up the offer to return home without penalty since the amnesty began Oct 29, the daily said.

Humanitarian crisis

The amnesty was originally due to expire Dec 31 but Malaysia extended it for a month amid fears mass deportations would worsen the humanitarian crisis in Indonesia and other countries hit by the tsunamis.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi earlier this month had said the government might consider extending the amnesty to let Indonesia focus on rehabilitating its devastated Aceh province.

Indonesians make up the bulk of more than a million illegal workers in Malaysia, many of them from Aceh. Nationals from tsunami-hit India and Sri Lanka also work illegally in Malaysia, drawn by jobs in the construction, plantation and service industries.