Upset with the lack of opportunities to represent Gerakan in the polls, a group of Indian Malaysian members today vowed to show party president Dr Lim Keng Yaik their dissatisfaction by convincing Indian voters in his constituency not to vote for him.

Group leader A Rajaretnam said the disgruntled party members will not vote for the opposition but will ensure that Lim does not get the votes he needs to retain his Beruas seat in Perak.

"In 1999, he (Lim) won with the support of the Indian voters. This time, we will make sure that he is denied the votes from about 3,000-4,000 Indian voters in the constituency," he said.

"Of course, as they are members of Gerakan and Barisan Nasional, the votes will not go to the opposition, but other kinds of damage can be done. Spoiling the votes is one option," he said.

In the last general election, Lim defeated DAP contender Yiew Teong Chong by a 1,455 majority after obtaining a total of 14,256 votes.

Contacted today in Bangkok while on an official visit, Lim declined to comment on the latest development.

"I'm going to meet the Thai PM now. Sorry, because I cannot answer any questions about the party now," he said.

Other Gerakan leaders were unavailable for comment.

Possibility of expulsion

Yesterday, the group of about 70 Indian members had met in Kuala Lumpur to protest the lack of representation.

They said that, with additional parliamentary and state seats, Gerakan could afford to allocate at least one parliamentary seat for a non-Chinese candidate in Selangor since the state has 20,000 of these members.

Rajaretnam said the group was planning to conduct a house-to-house campaign in Beruas against Lim because the party president had "failed to see the bigger picture".

He also acknowledged the possibility of being expelled for working against the party's interests.

"Yes, the possibility is there. But never mind, I'm prepared. Enough is enough... we have waited far too long and nothing has changed," he said.

"The party does not understand or appreciate non-Chinese or Indian members like us who have worked hard for it. Now it's time to pursue the issue till the end."

He also revealed that those affected plan to meet BN chairperson Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Thursday morning before he is announces the list of election candidates.

"The president has obviously forgotten his remarks about Indian tappers behind rubber trees. Looks like he needs to be reminded of it," he said.

Rajaretnam was referring to a statement made by Lim several years ago about rubber- tappers that drew strong criticism from the community. The Gerkan leader later apologised.