Amidst praise for outgoing premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, an opposition group contends that for many Indian Malaysians, his 22-year tenure will be more remembered for the increasing marginalisation of the community.

"To Indian Malaysians, the Mahathir era has been marked by misery, alienation, discrimination, lack of employment opportunities and the absence of political and economic power. Indians have been made the underclass citizens of this country," said the yet-to-be-registered Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim).

Pro-tem deputy secretary-general RN Rajah extended a plea to incoming Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (photo) not to further sideline the community but to lift them out of the doldrums.

In this respect, Prim issued an 14-point statement to list the areas where Indian Malaysians have suffered the worst under Mahathir's rule.

Dilapidated schools

Topping the list (see chart below) were concerns over the lack of education opportunities for Indian Malaysian students.

According to Prim, a statistical comparison showed that the university intake of Indian Malaysian students fell from 10 percent in 1970 to 5.2 percent in 2003, while students enrolled at the country's premier medical faculty at Universiti Malaya dropped 16 in 2001 to only one this year.

"80 percent of over 500 Tamil schools in the country are in a dilapidated state. They have almost no facilities and they have not been made fully-aided schools even though the government has made primary schooling compulsory for all children," said Rajah.

Rajah also deplored the political and economic marginalisation of the community as evident from their dwindling participation in the civil service and their low average per capita income.

Indian Malaysians, who made up a considerable bulk of civil servants when the country gained independence in 1957, have now been relegated to a small minority within the public sector, he said.

"Indian participation in the civil service has been reduced by about 40 percent in 1957 to 4 percent this year. There is discrimination in employment in both the private and government sectors," Rajah alleged.

"As a result of the meagre opportunities, Indian Malaysians own only 1.3 percent of the country's economic wealth although they form about 10 percent of the population."

Rajah said the dearth of opportunities has prevented many families from breaking out of the cycle of poverty and thereby causing a situation where 80 percent of Indians still end up as low-level and low-skilled workers.

Involvement in crime

More damaging to the community, he added, is the rising involvement in crime by Indian youth as a result of the sense of hopelessness they feel.

Another issue frequently highlighted by Prim is the high number of Indian Malaysians who are killed by the police each year.

"Indian Malaysians form about 75 percent of innocent people shot dead by the police, 75 percent of innocent people dying in police custody and 60 percent of suspects in police lock-ups," he claimed.

"Many plead guilty and serve jail sentences for the simple reason that they are unable to afford legal fees and not because they are guilty."