A revolving fund of RM1 billion should be set up to uplift the economic well being of the Indian Malaysian community, said M Kulasegaran, the DAP parliamentarian for Ipoh Barat.

At a press conference in the Parliament lobby today, he said the fund must be administered by a special agency of the government.

"An annual grant of RM1 billion must be allocated until the community is on par with other communities," he said, adding that the agency must submit an annual report to Parliament.

He also was of the view that the government must set up a department, headed by a minister, to deal with minority issues.

"We feel the time has come for the government to get to the bottom of the matter and find ways to address (such) matters," he said.

Explaining that the protest on Sunday was evidence of the Indian community's anger, Kulasegaran said: "Even Barisan Nasional ministers, the New Straits Times and Suhakam are saying that the Indians are marginalised. They have urged the government to wake up.

"It is high time the government wakes up and realises that (MIC president) S Samy Vellu has been taking the Indians for a ride."

MIC claims disputed

Kulasegaran said many things have gone wrong for the community despite Samy Vellu's claims that the MIC represent Indians and fights for their rights.

The opposition MP cited the following data to back his claim:

The Indian community only controls 1.2 percent of equity compared to over 20 percent by the Malays and nearly 40 percent by the Chinese. Of the Indian share, one percent is controlled by tycoon T Ananda Krishnan. This leaves nearly two million Indians owning less than 0.2 percent equity.

Indians have the highest suicide rate (21.1 for every 100,000) compared to the Chinese (8.6 for every 100,000) and Malays (2.6 for every 100,000).The rate clearly shows that members of the community are not able to handle the daily demands of life and therefore, take this way out.

40 percent of detainees at the Simpang Renggam centre are Indians. Frequently, Indians who leave estates arrive in urban areas without proper housing and end up as squatters. They also face difficulties in getting jobs although the country claims to have full employment.

More than 500 Hindu temples have been demolished over the last few years with little respect for the sensitivity of the community. Statues of deities have been broken with little understanding of how the Hindus feel.

Tamil schools are in a deplorable state and there is also a shortage of teachers. Although Samy Vellu claims that 80 schools will be built under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the claim can be refuted as no new Tamil schools are planned.