Muhyiddin said the committee would include representatives from the human resources ministry and enforcement agencies.

“The committee will look at ways to reduce the number of foreigners in the country and replace them with local workers.

“It will also look at reasons why locals are not taking up certain jobs, whether training needs to be provided, the level of wages and conditions of accommodation for local workers,” he said after a briefing at the Immigration Department today.

Muhyiddin said the committee would also look thoroughly at the issue of illegal migrant workers.

“We want to know why there is a flood of illegals in the country, what actions we can take and other aspects of the problem,” he said.

He said the presence of illegal immigrants was adversely affecting the social, economic and health systems in the country.

On the government’s rehiring programme, he said 83,919 employers had so far registered, seeking to rehire a total of 744,942 illegal foreign workers.

He said 307,557 illegals had been cleared to be rehired under the programme but 108,234 others were rejected due to various reasons and would be deported.

The screening process under the programme has been extended until June 30 for those who have registered.

The programme gives undocumented foreign workers in Malaysia the chance to be issued valid work permits to meet the labour demands in permitted sectors.