KUALA LUMPUR: DAP Secretary-General Anthony Loke Siew Fook said he will resign from the cabinet as Transport Minister following the Pardons Board’s decision to grant former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak conditional house arrest.
However, Anthony said, the party’s other ministers and deputy ministers would remain in the government adding that he would submit his resignation letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the near future.
“After discussions and taking into account the reactions from the CEC (Central Executive Committee), I will resign as transport minister, while the rest will remain in the government,” he told reporters at DAP headquarters in Jalan Pudu Saturday.
Anthony announced his decision after a three-hour CEC meeting to discuss the party’s stance on Najib’s conditional house arrest.
He said his decision to step down was a personal stance, while the other ministers would remain in their positions to maintain political stability.
“If all DAP ministers were to resign, the government could collapse, leading to political instability, which is precisely what our opponents are waiting for. DAP would not allow opposition forces to exploit the situation,” he said.
Commenting on the decision to place Najib under house arrest, Anthony said DAP respects the royal prerogative exercised by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, but that the decision remained difficult for the party and the public to accept given the scale of the 1MDB scandal.
“The 1MDB scandal is a major corruption crisis that has plagued the nation for a decade. DAP has always fought for truth and justice, and those responsible must face the full weight of the law,” he said as quoted by NST.
Meanwhile, he also assured the public that operations at the Transport Ministry and ongoing national infrastructure projects would continue without disruption during the transition.
Earlier, the Federal Territories Pardons Board announced that Najib, 73, had been granted a conditional pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50 million fine.
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 Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department said His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, had consented to the conditional pardon.
Najib, the former Pekan member of parliament, is currently serving a jail sentence over seven charges of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering involving more than RM42 million belonging to SRC International.
He was convicted on all charges by the High Court in July 2020 following a lengthy trial and sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million.
Najib began serving his sentence on Aug 23, 2022, after the Court of Appeal and Federal Court dismissed his appeals and upheld his conviction.
On Jan 29, 2024, the Pardons Board halved his 12-year prison sentence to six years and reduced the fine to RM50 million.
Yesterday’s decision allows Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of the RM50 million fine.
