Lawmaker S Krishnasamy, 58, was killed at the office of his party, the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), in the southern city of Johor Baru, state news agency Bernama said, but police and the party said the motive behind the attack was not yet clear.

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 said.

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."

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