Major opposition parties were discriminating against Malaysian Indians by not allocating them safe seats thus leaving the community's two million unrepresented in parliament and state assemblies, claimed Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim).

Its pro tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar said Malaysian Indians have not been represented by the opposition in Parliament and in all state assemblies since the 1999 general election.

He said all three parties - DAP, PAS and Keadilan - claim to be multi-racial but do not practise this.

"For the first time in Malaysian history, there is not a single Malaysian Indian opposition member in parliament, the senate, state assemblies or the local councils between 1999-2004," he said.

Uthayakumar said Umno was comparatively fairer in its treatment of Malaysian Indians as it had allocated seven parliamentary and 15 state assembly safe seats for the MIC.

"Apart from that, it has also given eight senators and more than 100 local councillors (positions) to Malaysian Indians," he added.

Aggravating problems

In a letter to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang and Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the lawyer said over the last year, the parties had only discussed seat allocations for themselves.

"We regret to note that despite there being zero Malaysian Indian representation in the opposition, none of the parties have considered safe seats to guarantee victory, and thus representation," he said.

"It is regrettable that while the representation for Malaysian Indians in the (ruling party) Barisan Nasional is100 percent secure, the same cannot be said in the opposition camp," he added.

Last week, Prim declared its intention not to stand for elections, partly due to the opposition's alleged discriminatory practices against Malaysian Indians.

"But we will lobby for other Malaysian Indian opposition candidates," said Uthayakumar.

He added that the under-representation of the Malaysian Indian community had aggravated their socio-economic problems, including education quotas, neglected Tamil schools, deaths in police custody and the increasing number of poverty-stricken Malaysian Indians.

"A Malaysian Indian opposition elected representative would be better able to identify with, and feel for, the various community-related issues," he noted.

Uthayakumar said since Abdul Hadi plans to contest the Kepala Batas seat against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, his safe seat should be given to Keadilan supreme council member N Gobalakrishnan.

Similarly, he said DAP should consider giving Kota Melaka, currently held by party secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock, to either Prof P Ramasamy (photo left), M Manoharan or M Kulasegaran.

"Kerk reportedly said last week that he was prepared to make way for Lim Guan Eng. On the same note, the DAP could also make way for the sake of the two million Malaysian Indians."

Kerk and Lim declined to comment on the issue.

For Keadilan, Uthayakumar suggested that the Kota Baru or Peringat seats be given to Keadilan Youth exco member S Manickavasagam, in line with the party's principle of fairness for all Malaysians.

Keadilan and PAS leaders were unavailable for immediate comments.

'It's subjective'

Contacted today, DAP deputy secretary-general M Kulasegaran said the party accommodated "as many capable Malaysian Indians as possible".

"Most importantly, we don't go on a racial basis. Generally speaking, the DAP has in the past given a number of seats to Malaysian Indian candidates but there must be voter support.

"For example, I lost the Ipoh Barat seat in 1999. The commitment must come from voters themselves. You can give the safest seat in the country to anyone, but if no voter supports him/her, then it is of no use," he explained.

He denied that the DAP discriminated against Malaysian Indians. He said the party has put upmore Malaysian Indian candidates than MIC

Kulasegaran is planning to contest the Ipoh Barat seat again in the coming elections and it is one of the areas with the highest registered Malaysian Indians voters in the country.

As to whether he considers this a safe seat, he replied: "Tell me, what is a safe seat? It is subjective and to me, there is no such thing. I have touched base and now it is up to the voters to decide."

"(But) the DAP will support as many Malaysian Indian candidates, and those from any other ethnic group," he declared.