Expressing concern over the treatment meted out to Tamils in Malaysia, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday demanded that the Centre immediately take appropriate action to end their suffering.

In a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh [Images], he said the people of the state were disturbed over the happenings in Kuala Lumpur. He said he was greatly pained at the way in which Tamils in Kuala Lumpur were treated by the Malaysian police on November 25, when they organised a protest rally there.

Images: Indians take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur

'You are aware that Tamils constitute the largest percentage among the Indian minority in Malaysia. The protesters were carrying poster-size pictures of Mahatma Gandhi [Images],' the chief minister said in his letter to the prime minister.

The rally was organised to demand equal rights. Police had used water cannons and tear-gars to crush the demonstration and disperse the rally, besides detaining over 240 ethnic Indians.