Anthony Loke Quits Cabinet As Najib Begins House Arrest

By MIKE PAUL

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — Anthony Loke resigns as Transport Minister with immediate effect, following through on a pledge he made two months ago, after the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday (Nov 10) ordered former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the rest of his prison sentence under house arrest.

In a statement issued the same evening, the DAP secretary-general said his departure was in line with the position he had announced on Friday (Nov 6), stating that “my resignation as the Minister of Transport takes effect immediately”. He thanked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the trust placed in him since joining the Cabinet in December 2022 and pledged full cooperation to ensure a smooth handover of duties at the Ministry of Transport.

What the court decided

High Court judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin set aside an earlier Nov 6 order that would have discharged Najib upon payment of a fine. In its place, the court ordered him to serve the balance of his reduced SRC International sentence at his residence in Jalan Langgak Duta, Taman Duta, until Aug 23, 2028.

The ruling followed an application by the Attorney-General’s Chambers to bring the court order in line with the conditional royal pardon granted on Sept 18. Najib arrived at his home later on Tuesday to begin the arrangement. TNS News earlier examined how markets and investors reacted to the clemency decision.

A pledge two months in the making

Loke first offered to step down on Sept 19, a day after the conditional pardon was announced. Anwar asked him to remain in office until Najib actually began his house arrest, and Loke said last Friday that his resignation would take effect once the former prime minister returned home. Other DAP ministers remain in the Cabinet.

DAP leader Hannah Yeoh said she felt she should also have stepped down, but that Loke had chosen to bear the cost himself, Malay Mail reported. MCA’s Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong described the resignation as a personal decision, according to The Star.

DAP stands by Anwar

Speaking to reporters after a Pakatan Harapan ceramah in Batu Berendam, Melaka, on Tuesday night, Loke said Anwar should not yield to pressure to dissolve Parliament ahead of schedule, noting that the prerogative to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on dissolution rests solely with the prime minister.

He said Anwar still held the mandate and sufficient support in Parliament to govern, adding: “He still has another year left in his mandate.”

Loke was responding to calls for Parliament to be dissolved instead of a Cabinet reshuffle, which surfaced as Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan’s term as a senator approaches its Dec 11 expiry. He dismissed the calls as political games and said coalition partners who no longer shared the government’s position were free to decide whether to keep supporting the prime minister.

Despite leaving the Cabinet, Loke said DAP would continue to give Anwar its full backing to lead the country until the end of the government’s term.

What happens next

No replacement for the transport portfolio had been announced at the time of writing. Najib’s house arrest covers only the SRC International case; his separate 1MDB conviction and 15-year prison term remain under appeal.

– TNS News