Putrajaya, Apr 29 : Malay Indians are reportedly agitated over the unexpected sale of Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) units, which were specially allotted to their community.

According to The Star, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister''s Department S. K Devamany accepted that he has received at least 60 calls since last Monday from agitated Indians.

According to the callers, the banks had informed them that the units allocated to the respective branches had been sold out.

Devamany pointed out that according to the latest report from Amanah Saham Bhd, Indians had acquired only 138.15 million units of ASM, which was only 27.7 percent of the total allocated to them.

Taking the matter seriously, he called for an investigation into the charges made by Malay Indians, who were clearly told by the banks that the units have been traded.

Calling the Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Bank Negara and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to look into the matter, Devamany inferred that there has been some loophole that has led to the banks claiming that no units are left.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Devamany said, "One of the reasons for this may be due to the reluctance of some bank staff to take on additional work to process the applications."

Suspecting fraud in the procedure, he said, " Another reason I believe is manipulation of the process whereby they blocked the shares for certain customers instead of giving them to those who had been queuing at the banks."

The Government, he said, should also look at providing loans for Indians, especially those from the lower-income group. (ANI)