DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has offered to resign as Transport Minister following the conditional pardon granted to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, with other DAP ministers and deputy ministers set to remain in the government.
Loke said his resignation letter would be submitted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim soon, following a three-hour DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting to discuss the matter.
“I proposed this to the CEC, and we decided that I would resign as a response by the party to what had happened,” he told a press conference at DAP headquarters.
Loke stressed that the decision involves only his Cabinet position, while other DAP ministers and deputy ministers would remain in the government to maintain political stability.
He said other DAP leaders were prepared to relinquish their positions if necessary, but the CEC decided against a wider Cabinet withdrawal because of the potential impact on the Anwar administration.
“This is a responsible decision as we do not want any action taken by us to result in political instability,” he said.
Loke added that DAP was conscious of political manoeuvring by parties that could benefit from instability within the government, saying the party would not provide such an opportunity.
Operations and ongoing projects at the Transport Ministry, meanwhile, would continue despite his planned departure.
Loke reiterated that DAP respected the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s authority to grant pardons.
Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, granted Najib a conditional pardon on Sept 18, allowing him to serve the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50 million fine.
The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department said the decision was made at the 64th meeting of the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya at Istana Negara.
The conditional pardon does not affect Najib’s other pending legal proceedings.
