Is it possible for 71 percent of secret society members are from a community that makes up only seven percent of the population?

PKR vice-president N Surendran doesn't think so and believed that the figure was likely the result of racial profiling.

"We believe that this bloated figure is caused by systematic and long-term racial profiling of the Indian community by police and other enforcement authorities.

"The figure is as high as 71 percent simply because the police have been targeting the Indian community in their operations," he said in a press release today.

Surendran said that if the police were to be believed it would mean that there is a national crisis involving the Indian community.

"If true, why has this astonishing figure not been revealed to the public before?" he asked.

Surendran was referring to the racial breakdown of 40,000 suspected gang members tracked by the police released yesterday.

Of this number, 23 percent of suspects were Chinese and just under 5 percent were Malay, according to figures released by national CID director Hadi Ho Abdullah.

Inquiry needed

Surendran warned that the racial profiling methods allegedly employed by the police had led to the harassment, unlawful arrest and breaches of fundamental rights of many Indians.

"More dangerously, it also results in rough treatment of Indians in police custody.That Indians have been victims in many high-profile death in custody cases is a clear result of consistent racial profiling.

"Notorious examples are cases such as Francis Udayappan , A Kugan , C Sugumar , N Darmendran , P Karunanithi etc. A recent example of murderous racial profiling is the police fatal shooting of five young Indians in Penang," he said.

In light of this, Surendran said his party would like to see a full-scale independent inquiry be set up to look into racial profiling of Indians by law enforcement authorities.

"We further demand an immediate end to harassment and racial-profiling of Malaysian Indians by the home ministry and police.

"We urge the prime minister to make an immediate public statement confirming that racial profiling will be ended and assure the Indian community of their safety," he said.