Kuala Lumpur, Jan 16: The MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress), a component of the ruling Barisan National coalition Party, has decided to set up a hotline call centre by April at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to address problems faced by Indians in the country.

The setting up of the centre assumes significance in the wake of recent reports that the Malaysian government had banned recruitment of Indian workers, which were later denied by the federal government.

The centre would address the problems and socio-economic needs of the Indians after referring them to relevant offices with the Congress, besides giving the Indians here a new outlook ahead of the general elections.

"The centre, which will be fully operational in April, will be manned by professionals who will record and refer the problems received from the community to the relevant offices within the MIC. We are modernising the MIC headquarters in line with our objective to have a new outlook in facing the general election," the New Straits Times Online quoted MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu as saying.

He said the future for Indians was bright under the leadership of Prime Minster Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who was receptive to problems facing the community. A vote for the opposition in the general election would be detrimental to the nation's progress, he added.

Incidents in the past two months had been detrimental to the hard work and position of the Indians, he added.

Malaysian Works Minister S. Samy Vellu, the only ethnic Indian member of the cabinet, said he would be asking for an allocation of 3.8 billion Ringgit Malaysia for new projects this year. (ANI)