He said the government would also take steps to prevent further encroachment at the centre.

“These people (squatters) know that this area is out of bounds but they still occupy it illegally. When we take action they are angry but they are the ones who have broken the law.

“Going by the rule of law, we have to act when an offence is committed,” he told reporters after attending Hari Raya Aidiladha celebrations at Masjid Al Huda in Padang Matsirat here today. He is MP for Langkawi.

Mahathir had been asked to comment on a report that suspected illegal immigrants continued to occupy abandoned government homes at the leprosy centre, and were running plant nurseries and planting grass for landscaping.

The Sungai Buloh centre, located about 25km from Kuala Lumpur, was designated a restricted area from 1926 until 1996 when no new cases of leprosy were reported.