Police reports were lodged against Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim and television station TV3 today over the controversy surrounding the inclusion of the word ' keling ' in a dictionary by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP).

Keadilan Youth exco S Manikavasagam accused Rais of sedition for allegedly describing the use of the derogatory term in the dictionary as an insignificant matter. The minister's remarks were also alleged to be in contempt of court since legal action has been initiated against DBP.

TV3 was cited in another report for conducting a survey deemed to be 'seditious'.

To substantiate his claims, Manikavasagam referred to parts of an article published in The Star (Aug 2) which quoted Rais - who is de facto law minister - as saying the term has been "widely used since 1896".

The minister said that, in his opinion, it was a "relatively small issue to be taken up by any party as a point of their struggle".

He added that if "any party was to initiate a legal proceeding, I will be glad to answer it off the cuff".

Manikavasagam said it was "insulting" of the minister to belittle the Indian community by labelling their grouses as a small matter.

"For me, this issue is a question of pride to a community," he added in the report which was lodged at the Dang Wangi police station in Kuala Lumpur.

The Keadilan leader also said he had been advised by his lawyers that Rais' statements amounted to being subjudice since a court case was pending on the matter.

'Seditious' survey

The report against TV3 was also filed at the same police station by Keadilan supreme council member N Gobalakrishnan regarding a survey conducted by the television station on the issue.

The report said TV3 had committed sedition by running the survey on Monday where viewers were asked to vote via the Short Messaging Service (SMS) on whether the term should be used.

"I know well that the term can offend the feelings of the Indian community...and TV3 has exploited racial sentiments to further fuel anger among Malaysia's different races," said Gobalakrishnan.

"The police must start conducting investigations, as sentiments over the use of the term ' keling ' have been made into a joke by TV3."

Gobalakrishnan told reporters that there were also plans to take legal action against Rais and TV3.

The Keadilan leaders were accompanied by several representatives from various non-governmental organisations.

The row over the term erupted on Thursday when an Indian Muslim association - Angkatan Pelopor India Muslim Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan - applied to the High Court for a declaration that DBP had failed in its statutory responsibility based on the manner in which it listed the word.

Besides referring to ethnic Indians as ' keling ', the dictionary also lists other metaphors which association has claimed are offensive.

The association was quoted in press reports as saying these terms include akal keling (a tactful cheat and a conspirator), lidah keling (a person with forked tongue), and keling mabuk todi (a person who likes to talk nonsense).

The association is seeking compensation from DBP on the grounds that it had embarrassed and humiliated the Indian community.