Shah Alam (Malaysia), July 9 - A Malaysian Indian legislator says privileges granted to ethnic Malays under the Constitution's 'Bumiputera' (son of the soil) provision should also be given to the non-Malay population.

'If Najib (Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak) is very serious in the 1Malaysia concept, he should consider according the non-Malays Bumiputera status,' M. Manoharan was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. Najib is advocating '1Malaysia', a plea for an inclusive society.

The privileges are through economic policies which favour the ethnic Malays.

This was Manoharan's maiden speech in the Selangor state assembly to which he was elected last year but could not attend due to several months of imprisonment on charge of sedition.

The lawyer-legislator has been the legal adviser of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), which was banned after it staged a protest rally in November 2007 to highlight the grievances of Malaysia's two million population of largely Tamil Hindus.

Manoharan was one of the five activists jailed under the stringent Internal Security Act (ISA) and sentenced to two years' imprisonment.