Kuala Lumpur: Concerned over the rising crime graph among ethnic Indians in Malaysia, the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) has sought a meeting with Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan to find ways to address the problem.

MIC president S. Samy Vellu said the community was alarmed at the recent spate of violent crimes involving its youths being reported in the media almost daily.

"This is a worrying trend and the MIC together with its youth wing and the YSS (Social Strategic Foundation) have decided to meet the police to find a quick solution.

"We're inviting Indian youths from all quarters to also come forward with their own proposals on how to solve this pressing problem," he said Saturday.

Vellu suggested that Indian students in secondary schools should be tackled first to ensure they were not influenced by undesirable elements, The Star newspaper reported Sunday.

He pointed out that anti-crime programmes aimed at the secondary schools were held a few years ago and were a success, but these had been scaled down due to lack of finances.

Vellu stressed that gangsterism and other crimes had now resurfaced in secondary schools.

He added that the MIC, which has traditionally spoken for the estimated 2.6 million ethnic Indians, has also proposed that convicts released on parole be given training under the government's skills training programme.