Malaysia will issue biometric identity cards to foreign workers by the end of the year as part of efforts to crack down on illegal migrant workers, local media said Thursday.

Under the RM30 million (US$8 million) system, the cards will be issued to construction, manufacturing, agricultural and restaurant workers, said Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid.

Azmi said the cards will carry the bearer's personal details and fingerprints and would be tamper-proof thanks to various security features.

"Card tampering might happen, but they can't change the information in the microchip," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. "Any attempt to remove the chip will result in damage to the card.

"The old passport system was not very secure as forgeries could be made and sold to foreign workers," he told the official Bernama news agency.

2.6 million foreign workers

In future the Malaysian-developed system may be used for domestic maids from foreign countries, he added.

Malaysia is one of Asia's largest importers of foreign labour. Foreign workers, both legal and illegal, number around 2.6 million of its 10.5 million-strong workforce.

The repatriation of about 400,000 illegal immigrants, mainly low-wage Indonesians, during a four-month amnesty that ended in March left a huge labour shortage.

This has prompted the government to fast-track the recruitment of some 100,000 Pakistanis. The government has also been looking for workers from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Vietnam.