Lawmaker S. Krishnasamy, 58, was killed at the office of his party, the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), in the southern city of Johor Baru. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

KUALA LUMPUR - A GUNMAN shot dead a Malaysian ethnic Indian politician on Friday, police said, raising questions as to whether the crime was politically motivated.

S. Krishnasamy, 61, deputy state chairman for the Malaysian Indian Congress

(MIC) which is part of the national coalition, was found slumped in a pool of blood at about 2:10pm at the office of his party, in Johor Baru, state news agency Bernama said, but police and the party said the motive behind the attack was not yet clear.

After the gunshots rang out, a witness saw a man leaving the building hurriedly and getting onto a motorcycle.

'I am stunned and am very sad about Krishnasamy's killing and I want to extend my condolences to his family,' Bernama quoted Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying.

Johor Deputy Police Chief Mohammad Mokhtar Mohammad Sharif said a special unit had been set up to investigate the killing.

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

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

A party spokesman said he 'could not speculate' on the circumstances surrounding the shooting, which comes as the MIC is embroiled in a row over the treatment of ethnic Indians in Malaysia.

Politics is in turmoil among the minority ethnic Indian population after more than 10,000 Indians staged an anti-government protest in November to complain of racial discrimination and accused the MIC of selling out their interests.

'We don't know the motive. All we know is that he was going to attend a state MIC meeting,' MIC Secretary-General S. Subramaniam told reporters.

Asked whether the murder was politically motivated, he said: 'Unlikely. I don't think so. So far, there has been a lot of verbal fight, but not anything of this sort,' he added.

The government has cracked down on Indian activists who staged unprecedented mass rallies last year, alleging discrimination at the hands of the Muslim Malays who dominate the country's population.

MIC Chief Samy Vellu has sided with the government, and been criticised for failing to adequately address the complaints of his constituents who say they are marginalised in terms of education, wealth and opportunities.

Vellu said he was saddened by the death of his close friend.

'Krishnasamy was a dedicated and visionary politician and a close friend of mine,' he said in a statement. 'The party has lost a voice of the people.'

MIC is a senior member of Badawi's 14-party ruling coalition. Abdullah is widely expected to call snap elections in the coming weeks.

Around 7 per cent of Malaysia's 26 million people are ethnic Indians, whose forefathers were brought to the Southeast Asian country as labourers by British colonial rulers. -- REUTERS, AFP