This comes after Education Minister Maszlee Malik said today the government would maintain the 90:10 ratio of Bumiputeras to non-Bumiputeras in increasing the number of students for matriculation from 25,000 to 40,000 students.

Ramasamy said the increased quota for Bumiputeras by the government was due to fears of a backlash from sections of the Malay-Muslim community.

Ramasamy, who is Penang Education Committee chairman, said with the increased quota, the Bumiputera allocation will increase from 22,500 to 36,000 students.

He said, in comparison, the number of non-Malays will increase by only 1,500 students, on top of the current 2,500 students.

“I’m taken aback and surprised by the Cabinet’s decision. We have failed to move forward.

“It appears as though the Cabinet was not prepared to take a bold decision in increasing the intake of non-Malay students, particularly Indians.

“Non-Malay supporters of PH will definitely be disappointed,” the Penang deputy chief minister II said in a statement.

Earlier, Maszlee said the increased intake for matriculation students was based on a Cabinet decision to get more students into tertiary education and to also allow such an opportunity to all races.

He had said the 90:10 quota was maintained in order to get more Bumiputera students to pursue science-related fields in public universities.

Meanwhile, Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism northern region coordinator K Sudhagaran Stanley said the move was “one of the worst” moves by the Pakatan Harapan government.

He said the quota system ought to be done away with and replaced with a merit-based entrance system.