Indonesia's Parliament has called on the government to investigate reports that Malaysia has been recruiting Indonesian citizens to join its paramilitary wing.

Parliament Speaker Agung Laksono warned yesterday (Feb 14) that the alleged move by Malaysia, which was reported during a parliamentary hearing on Monday, could jeopardise security in the country's border areas.

"If our security personnel have to arrest them (the Indonesian paramilitary members), we could be in a situation where we have to fight our own brothers," he told reporters.

He warned that the deployment of Indonesians to safeguard the Malaysian border could lead to a shift in the country's borders.

The report emerged during Monday's meeting between the Parliamentary Committee on Security and Foreign Affairs and army chief Lieutenant General Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo.

Parliament member Happy Bone Zulkarnaen said he received the report from the Tanjungpura military command that oversees Kalimantan, Indonesia's area of Borneo island, during a working visit there last year.

During the hearing, he showed photos of the recruitment process and training of members of Malaysia's paramilitary group Askar Wataniah, the reserve component of the Malaysian army that is mostly posted at northern border checkpoints.

The report said Indonesians were promised between 2 million rupiah (US$108) and 3 million rupiah ($325) a month if they joined the militias, which will be deployed to beef up security along the porous Indonesian-Malaysian border on the island.

The report also said Malaysia planned to recruit 40,000 Indonesians for the militias in the next two years.

But Tanjungpura military commander Major General Suhartono Suratman yesterday denied the report, saying no Indonesian had joined the Malaysian militias.

"We know that the Indonesians who live in the border still abide by the Red and White," he said, referring to the colours of the Indonesian flag.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Kristiarto Legowo said the ministry was looking into the report.

"We're still waiting to hear from our consulates in Kinabalu and Kuching, but if any Indonesian is found to take part in defending another country, then his or her citizenship can be revoked," he said.

The head of the West Kalimantan legislature Zulfadhli, said some people also obtained Malaysian citizenship so that their children could enjoy education opportunities for free, and that some even participated in Malaysian elections.

"The government needs to monitor the legal status of the citizens in the border areas," he pointed out.