Malaysia is considering amnesty for illegal immigrants

Malaysia is considering what could become its largest-ever program to legalize
illegal immigrants.

There are estimated to be as many as two million illegal immigrants in this
Southeast Asian country, which relies heavily on foreign labor.

The plan, which is expected to be discussed at a cabinet committee meeting
Wednesday, is designed to help the government keep track of foreign workers in
the country, which could improve national security, reduce human trafficking and
increase tax revenues.

Economists say the effort to grant amnesty to illegal workers would also help
make Malaysia more attractive to investors because it would increase the legal
labor pool. Employers have long complained about labor shortages in Malaysia, a
country of 28 million with an unemployment rate of 3 percent in March. Many
Malaysian industries, including the plantation and construction sectors, depend
heavily on workers from Indonesia, India and Myanmar. Malaysia has about two
million legal foreign workers.