The decision was taken by Premier Abdullah Badawi on Friday, Human Resources Minister D S Subramaniam said. The announcement came against the backdrop of demands for equal treatment by ethnic Indians, spearheaded by the non-governmental Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) which has been banned by the government.

Subramaniam said that Abdullah had also given an assurance that applications for the civil service would be approved based on job descriptions and merit.

Earlier in a statement, he urged the Public Services Commission (PSC) to ensure a minimum intake of at least seven per cent of ethnic Indians in all job categories in the public service.

Currently the country's civil services are dominated by Malays, who form the majority of Malaysia's 27 million population.

Meanwhile, ethnic Indian elected representatives of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance held talks with India-based NGOs and local councillors yesterday to ascertain if the minority community's circumstances had improved after the

March 8 general election in Malaysia and the November 25 rally by the Hindraf complaining of racial inequality. Ethnic Indians, a majority of them Tamils, form eight percent of Malaysia's population.