From correspondents in Federal Territory, Malaysia, 01:30 PM IST

A Malaysian Indian minister who was 'elected' by his supporters last month as president of the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) has threatened to sue the incumbent chief for defamation.

In the latest twist in the PPP internecine quarrel, Senator T. Murugiah, deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said he had instructed his lawyers to sue PPP president M. Kayveas.

Murugiah told a news conference here Tuesday that Kayveas had tarnished his reputation by alleging that he had bribed a party divisional chief.

PPP is one of the constituents of the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) and the matter is now before Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak who heads the BN.

'I will not say anything about it since the prime minister has decided to wait for the completion of the ROS (Registrar of Societies) investigations. Right now, Kayveas is only caretaker president,' Murgiah was quoted as saying by the The Star newspaper.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)