New Zealand's Prime Minister decried the actions of "repugnant" people smugglers on Monday after Malaysian authorities intercepted a boat carrying Sri Lankan asylum seekers.

The interception led an Australian government minister to say people smugglers were marketing New Zealand as a back door into Australia.

More than 130 Sri Lankans believed to be heading for Australia and New Zealand were intercepted when Malaysian authorities halted the modified tanker on Tuesday off the coast of southern Johor state.

Malaysian police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said in a statement the group included 98 men, 24 women, four boys and five girls.

Because of Australia's close ties with New Zealand, travelers who arrive in New Zealand immediately qualify for an Australian visa.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the focus needed to be on preventing the boats from ever leaving port.

Australia has stopped asylum seekers from attempting to reach its shores aboard rickety fishing boats from Indonesian ports by refusing to allow boat arrivals to ever resettle on the Australian mainland.

Australia pays the poor Pacific nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea to keep asylum seekers from Asia, the Middle East and Africa in immigration camps indefinitely.

New Zealand doesn't have similar policies but Ardern said that didn't make the country an easy target.