Malaysia has withdrawn visa-on-arrival facility to Indians and Bangladeshis who will now need a two-week social visit pass and a return ticket if they wish to visit the country.

Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the proposed new ruled were among measures taken to overcome the problem of illegal immigrants.

"The social visit pass replaces the visas-on-arrival which was discontinued in April," Syed Hamid told Parliament on Thursday.

The VOA facility has also been withdrawn for tourists from Bangladesh, he was quoted as saying by New Straits Times.

Under the VOA, 208,451 tourists were allowed in the country from January till March this year.

The social visit pass must be obtained at the tourists' home country.

Malaysia relies heavily on foreign workers who number about 2.1 million, half of them Indonesians. About 140,000 are Indians, 330,000 are from Bangladesh and 260,000 Nepalese, the paper said.

However, authorities say that many foreigners who entered the country under short term visa on arrival failed to go back to their home country after the expiry of their permit and instead worked here illegally.

Syed Hamid said although foreign workers had contributed tremendously to the economy, they were also the cause of social ills, illegal squatters and diseases such as tuberculosis, the paper reported.