A police report has been lodged against the member of Parliament for Jerai Badruddin Amiruldin for using a derogatory term to refer to the Indian community when speaking in Parliament.

The report was lodged by DAP Labour Bureau chief A Sivanesan at the Brickfields police station in Kuala Lumpur.

Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran, who was present at the police station, said that Badruddin had infringed Parliament's Standing Orders 36 (10)(c) under which words likely to promote feelings of ill-will or hostility among communities are not granted any form of immunity from sedition laws.

On Tuesday, Badruddin uttered the word keling during the 2006 Budget debate, causing a ruckus in the Lower House. He later retracted the word, but not before claiming it was the colloquial term for Indians in northen states.

"This is why the DAP wants live telecasts of parliamentary sessions. He has insulted the entire Indian community and this issue must be strictly looked into," said Kulasegaran.

Repeat offender

The DAP is also demanding that Badruddin makes a public apology over the remark within a week.

If Badruddin fails to comply, Indian DAP members in Negeri Sembilan will burn an effigy of the maverick MP next Sunday in Seremban to show that their tolerance is wearing thin, said Sivanesan.

A similar outburst by Badruddin took place in 1998 during a parliamentary debate when he explicitly referred to Kulasegaran, then Teluk Intan MP, as keling .

"Teluk Intan, what are you laughing at? Ama, apa, keling, keling, keling ," said Badruddin according to the April 21, 1998 hansard.

Human rights lawyer P Uthayakumar, who was also present at the police station today, said he was surprised that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is chief parliamentary whip, allowed such behaviour among his MPs.

"BN is suppose to reflect all communities, but Badruddin's antics reflect badly on the BN government," he said.

Also present during at the police station was Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng and Selangor DAP chief Ong Chee Keng.