Malaysia postponed a controversial round-up of illegal immigrants at the last moment on Tuesday. But the delay could be more of a tactical move than a response to pleas to suspend the crackdown from its poorer neighbour Indonesia, where most of the immigrants come from. Malaysian authorities said nation-wide raids by over 500,000 officials - planned for building sites, plantations, factories and restaurants from Tuesday - would still go ahead but they declined to say when in order not to jeopardise the operation.
The delay was designed to enable authorities to identify possible hiding areas before pouncing, said Mahadi Arshad, director general of Volunteer Corps, or Rela, which is involved in the crackdown, the biggest of its kind since 2002.
"We will not announce the new date. If we do so, the illegal immigrants will go into hiding," Mahadi told Reuters.
Indonesia, whose citizens account for most of Malaysia's estimated illegal immigrant population of 800,000 to 1.2 million, has urged Kuala Lumpur to suspend the round-up and allow more time for people to leave voluntarily, without penalty.
Indonesia's president has sent his state secretary, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, to appeal to Malaysia's premier this week for an extension of a current amnesty, The New Straits Times said.
But Indonesian presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said on Tuesday Jakarta had been told there would be no extension of the three-month amnesty, which ended at midnight on Monday and allowed immigrants to return home without punishment. Penalties include jail, fines and even whipping for men younger than 50.
"There is no extension," he told reporters in Jakarta.
The decision not to swoop on Tuesday was made at a meeting on Monday chaired by Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid, who would determine a new date for the crackdown, said Rela chief Mahadi.
Home Ministry and Immigration Department officials were not available to comment due to a holiday in the capital.
The Star newspaper on Tuesday quoted a Home Ministry source as saying the amnesty would now be extended by another week.
Malaysia has a chronic shortage of skilled and unskilled workers, drawing in illegal immigrants from poorer countries in the region. Indonesia is just a short boat ride away. But these immigrants are often blamed for crime, the growth of shanty settlements and for money being repatriated rather than spent within Malaysia.
The Philippines has also asked Malaysia to extend the amnesty by a month to allow an estimated 170,000 undocumented Filipinos to return home. Manila plans to send navy vessels to Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah to bring back some of the illegal workers. The amnesty had already been extended from its original deadline of December 31 because of the December 26 tsunami, which hit Indonesia particularly hard, leaving 230,000 dead or missing in the northern province of Aceh.