'Malaysian Indians face high divorce rate, premarital pregnancies'

High divorce rate, teen runaways, premarital pregnancies, suicide and problems of single mothers are among major problems confronting the Malaysian Indians, a woman leader says.

To overcome these problems, they need help, said Usha Nandhini Jayaram, a leader of Puteri, the women's wing of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

Society should not look down on Indian women or blame them in cases of suicide or attempted suicide when they failed in love or marriage, Jayaram urged.

She would initiate programmes to create awareness among the target groups, Jayaram told a forum, Love at a Young Age, at the party headquarters here Sunday.

The forum saw some 30 women from various divisions in the Klang Valley speak candidly on ways to confront the issues, the New Straits Times said Monday.

'It is time society acknowledges these issues as they are happening now. We can't ignore them forever,' said Jayaram.

Predominantly Tamil, women form a half of the estimated 2.6 million ethnic Indians who are eight percent of 28 million Malaysians.

Jayaram's MIC, that has traditionally represented them, badly lost last month's general elections, triggering internal dissensions.

However, the party is gearing up by opening grievance cells at its units across the country to help out the community.

Malaysia News Net