Kuala Lumpur, Sep. 1 : At least 200 Malay Indians have been denied loans by a financial institution here, an Indian-based business association has claimed.

Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) president P. Sivakumar said that the Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia has not given loans to any of the 200 people it had recommended this year.

"We sent the list to AIM but to date none of the candidates had received loans," The New Strait Times quoted him, as saying.

Sivakumar said AIM, which was set up to help all Malaysians, should reveal how much it had disbursed to poor Indians over the last six months.

"It should be transparent by releasing the list. We want to know why AIM is not giving poor Indians a chance to benefit from its micro-financing services," he said.

Sivakumar suggested that AIM set up a special board with representatives from Indian non-governmental organisations to help channel funds.

He said AIM would entertain requests from any group or individual who required loans.(ANI)