(AFP) Malaysia's massive homeward exodus for the Eid-al-Fitr celebrations has begun with highways choked with vehicles, officials said today.

The great shift occurs as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad expressed his concern at the huge number of traffic accidents which have killed 60 people in less than a week.

"It doesn't matter if we are an hour or two late," he was quoted as saying by The Sun newspaper. He urged Malaysians to drive slowly and carefully.

Some two million people in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas are returning to their home towns by road, train and air to celebrate the end of holy fasting month Ramadan with their families.

"Sixty people have been killed in 752 accidents since Dec 9, when police launched an operation to reduce the number of people killed on the roads.

Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan (PLUS), the operator of the north-south highway, said some 60,000 vehicles would use the road during the festival.

"The expressway is very busy," a PLUS official told AFP .

Malaysians are expected to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr Sunday but an official announcement would be made late today.

Between 1996 and 2000, 30,175 people died in road accidents in Malaysia.