KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — Malaysia arrested thousands of undocumented immigrants as the country began a nationwide operation to track down and deport almost half a million illegal workers from countries including Indonesia and Bangladesh.

A total of 2,433 people were arrested during 40 operations that began simultaneously across the country yesterday led by the immigration department, army, police and local councils, Saravana Kumar, a Department of Immigration deputy director, said in a telephone interview today. The crackdown is the largest to date in the country, he said.

Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, is clamping down on cheap illegal labour as it strives to move up the value chain from its agricultural base into more high-end manufacturing and services. About 1.3 million overstayers registered for permits during an amnesty in 2011, Saravana said. This is the second nationwide crackdown since then on those who failed to come forward.

The operation “will continue till end of the year and during this process, we will identify, arrest, charge and deport all those who have committed offenses under the Immigration Act,” Alias Ahmad, director general of immigration, said in a telephone interview today. “Employers found harbouring or employing illegal immigrants will be charged in court.”

The government estimates there are still more than 400,000 foreign labourers who haven’t obtained legal documents, Saravana said. Malaysia has 30.1 million people and had an unemployment rate of 3.1 per cent at the end of last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The move coincides with an expected slowdown in economic growth. The central bank cut its forecast for growth this year to 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent last month after expansion last quarter fell short of economists’ estimates.

Malaysia is also planning to delay some government-linked infrastructure projects to help contain a budget deficit and bolster a shrinking current-account surplus, Idris Jala, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said last week. — Bloomberg