Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia announced it would begin operations against undocumented immigrants next month in Sabah state on Borneo island, where up to 150,000 people were expected to be deported, officials and news reports said Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said the crackdown would be open-ended and those found without valid travel or identification documents would be nabbed.

"This shows that the government has the political will to resolve the issue of illegal immigrants in Sabah," Najib was quoted as saying by the Star daily. We do not want this problem to recur."

Najib, who is also defence minister, said the government had approved 50 million ringgit (15.1 million dollars) for the purchase of equipment and expenses for the operation, adding that the crackdown would involve the police, immigration officials and the armed forces.

"The Home Ministry has also had bilateral talks with the Philippines and Indonesia on the operation," he said.

Sabah is home to hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants, mostly from the neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia. Many of the migrants have been living in Malaysia for decades.

The government's pledge to crack down on the migrants comes amid criticism that the problem had been ignored for too long and turned into a serious issue.

Last month, Najib said that in spite of government operations to deport 300,000 illegal immigrants from Sabah this year, the problem remained at a "critical" level. (dpa)