Kuala Lumpur: A high school textbook that highlights multiethnic Malaysia's racial harmony has riled the main ethnic Indian party, which wants it banned because it refers to the Hindu caste system, an official said on Monday.

The Malaysian Indian Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition, has asked the Education Ministry to withdraw the book Interlock, or at least revoke portions referring to the caste system, because it is seen as hurtful to minority Indians, said party deputy president S. Subramaniam.

The spat emphasizes the difficulty of running a multiethnic country such as Malaysia where minorities are hypersensitive to suggestions their culture is not being respected, or they are being ridiculed by others.

The caste system is an outdated concept that Malaysian Indians want to forget, and it was "unnecessary" to include the reference in the book, Subramaniam said.

"It's irrelevant to modern day life here," he said. "With this kind of image, [some Indian Malaysians] feel hurt ... It's not touched upon or talked about by anybody."

Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong said the ministry was waiting to hear the party's arguments before making a decision.

Integration of races

The book, required reading for literature classes starting this year, tells the stories of three families — Malay, Chinese and Indian — in British colonial times.

Malays, who are Muslims, make up 60 per cent of Malaysia's 28 million people. Chinese are 25 per cent and Indians, who are mostly Hindus, make up 8 per cent. The book is written by a Malay author and shows the "integration of the various majority races" and how they contributed towards the independence of Malaysia from Britain in 1957.

The portion that angered the party is from a chapter that tells the story of a poor man from India's "Pariah caste." He travels to Malaya, as it was known then, to find work and is surprised at the absence of a caste system.

Under the Indian caste system, Hindus are divided into four main castes according to their line of work.

In addition, there are people outside the system called "untouchables" who are supposed to do unclean jobs.