Police have yet to identify the gunman who shot dead an ethnic Indian lawmaker in Malaysia three days ago.

S Krishnasamy, 61, a deputy state chairman for MIC, was found slumped in a pool of blood on Friday inside a lift at the party's headquarters in Johor.

"The investigations are still on," police chief Musa Hassan told the official Bernama news agency.

Witnesses said they saw a dark skinned man, dressed in a black shirt and jeans, fleeing the scene on a motorcycle. Police have said the suspect is believed to be in his 30s.

MIC chief S Samy Vellu said Krishnasamy, who was cremated on Saturday, had told him that he had received death threats a week ago. Vellu urged party leaders to remain alert and to beef up security.

Politics thrown into turmoil

"He said the threats went on for a week but he did not take it seriously. I did advise him to be careful," Samy Vellu was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Although political violence is rare in Malaysia, Krishnasamy is the second MIC politician to have been killed in this manner.

In November 2000, Kedah state assemblyman Joe Fernandez was shot when he stopped at a traffic junction in Penang.

Politics among the Indian minority has been thrown into turmoil in recent months after some 30,000 ethnic Indians staged a rare street demonstration in November.

The rally was to protest alleged discrimination against ethnic Indians and the destruction of their religious temples.

Ethnic Indians, who make up 8 percent of the country's population, complain they run a distant third to Malays and Chinese in terms of wealth, opportunities and education.