Satellite television provider Astro today confirmed that it had canned a special report on the situation of Indians in the country, slated for broadcast on Sunday, due to viewer sensitivities.

When contacted, a spokesperson said the Star TV current affairs programme, Focus Asia , was removed as the company was concerned with how viewers would receive one of the reports titled 'Indian Underclass?'

"We felt that it might be sensitive to some viewers and so we acted out of concern for the feelings of the public. We are regulated by the government so if we feel that any programme might cause disturbance to any community, we have to (take action)," she said.

However, she denied that the directive came from the government and added that the decision was made by the internal censors.

Responding to the cancellation, the Hong Kong-based producers of Focus Asia issued a statement saying they did not have control over the removal of the programme from its regular slot.

"Content on Astro is decided by Astro's management and not by Star. We have no choice but to accept their judgement.

"While we may not always succeed, we try to be sensitive, fair and balanced in the treatment of Malaysian issues," read the statement.

Left behind

The controversial news report focused on the status of Indian Malaysians and raised questions over the community's future.

In the clip, which is available on Focus Asia's website , Hong-Kong based journalist Jennifer Lee observed that the community appears to have been left behind by their Malay and Chinese counterparts in getting a fair share of the country's wealth and success.

"Malaysia seems to have left behind its third - the Indians, a group that represents less than 10 percent of the country's population yet makes up nearly 15 percent of its juvenile delinquents, more than 20 percent of its domestic violence cases and more than 40 percent of its beggars," the report said.

Among those interviewed for the programme were former estate workers who expressed unhappiness with the discriminatory practices by some employers in the country.

Another interviewee, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) lecturer Prof P Ramasamy said the community was concerned with "institutionalised racism" where affirmative action policies have resulted in the domination of certain sectors by Malay Malaysians.

"This so-called special rights and affirmative action policies that were introduced during the new economic period, actually has served to the detriment of other communities, the non-Malay communities," he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Lee also spoke with MIC president S Samy Vellu who said the party does not want to demolish the government's policy but instead sought more opportunities for the community.

"(Indian Malaysians) have to catch up with other Malaysians. So now, the catching up exercise is going on. I'm sure that within the next seven or eight years, we will be on par with the other races," he said.

Not surprised

Contacted today, Ramasamy said he was not surprised that the programme had been cancelled.

"I think it was because of the things that I said and those said by the squatter residents," he added.

However, the lecturer said his comments in the programme were not new as he had frequently aired his thoughts on the issue.

"I have said them many times in the articles that I have written including those published in malaysiakini .

"In fact, I don't even think that the Indians are merely second class citizens. They are fourth class citizens. The token representation in the government does not mean anything to the community," he asserted.

To justify his views, Ramasamy pointed to the problems faced by the community as highlighted in the press including demolition of their places of worship and association with gangsterism.

It was learnt that in the days leading up to the scheduled broadcast of the Focus Asia programme, SMS (short messaging service) messages had been circulating urging for members of the community to catch the report, causing much anticipation among the community.

However, they were disappointed when the 30-minute broadcast was replaced by an episode from another programme.