Kuala Lumpur – One-thousand-two-hundred illegal Indonesian workers boarded an Indonesian warship for deportation back to their country, Malaysia's national news agency Bernama and news reports said Monday.

The workers, arrested nation wide after sneaking into Malaysia over recent months, boarded the ship Monday in the southern province of Johor under a joint Malaysian-Indonesian exercise.

Aseh Che Mat, the national immigration chief, was quoted as saying by Bernama that another 3,000 Indonesian illegals remain in detention centers. He did not say when they would be deported.

The deportation exercise was agreed upon by both countries following talks between Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid in October, the Star daily quoted Aseh as saying Monday. Aseh did not reveal the cost of the exercise but said that it will be borne by both governments.

Malaysia has more than 700,000 foreign workers and more than 1 million illegal immigrants, mainly employed in the construction sector. Most are from Indonesia.