KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): DAP secretary general Anthony Loke on Saturday said he will resign as transport minister over the Pardons Board decision to allow Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the rest of his jail sentence at home.
Speaking to the media after an emergency meeting of the party’s central executive committee (CEC), Loke said he had offered to be the only one to resign so that the government led by Pakatan Harapan and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will remain intact and stable.
His offer was agreed to by the CEC, and he will be handing over his resignation letter to Anwar as soon as possible.
In explaining the decision that only he and not all ministers and deputy ministers will resign, he said: “We know there are certain parties who are waiting for DAP to leave the government so that there is political instability and cause Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to lose his majority in Parliament. DAP is aware of their political games and their hope that we will make a decision that helps them achieve their goals, but we will not give them the opportunity to do so.”
He added that the decision that he alone will resign to express the party’s view on the house arrest was a responsible one, even though the party respects the prerogative of the King.
The decision follows another royal clemency for Najib. He is now allowed house arrest until August 2028 following a Pardons Board meeting on Friday chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
DAP has been one of the staunchest critics of the former prime minister who was twice convicted for grand corruption.
The 30-member CEC is DAP’s highest decision-making body responsible for setting internal directions and policies. DAP also holds the largest number of federal seats in the Anwar administration.
While other DAP representatives in the Cabinet as well as deputy ministers were also prepared to resign, the responsible action is to preserve political stability, and thereby the decision that only he is to resign, Loke said.
Najib has been in jail since August 2022 after being proven guilty at all levels of the judiciary. He also has numerous ongoing civil cases.
The original sentence over the theft of RM42 million of money that belonged to SRC International Sdn Bhd was for 12 years in jail and a RM210 million fine before the punishment was lessened in 2024 by the previous King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
Najib had also been found guilty in a separate 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case and was sentenced to 15 years in jail that will run after he finishes serving time for the SRC conviction. The 1MDB case is now on appeal.