'There's no incentive like money,' Mr Yew Teong Look, a member of parliament for a Kuala Lumpur precinct, was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying.

Dead or alive, the rats are worth 2 ringgit (S$0.87) each, he said.

'All residents have to do is place the vermin at drop-off points where City Hall officers will collect them for disposal,' he said.

Avoiding traps, the fast-breeding mammals are found in many of the city's homes, shops and markets, despite efforts by the city authorities to contain the problem and clean up the city.

Malaysia, with a large ethnic Chinese minority, is one of a number of country's across Asia that have just celebrated the Lunar New Year.

The Year of the Rat - one of the 12 animals in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac - began on Thursday. -- REUTERS