Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday night (Nov 12) that he had not accepted Anthony Loke Siew Fook’s resignation as transport minister and wanted to discuss the matter with him again before making a decision.
Speaking at a Pakatan Harapan event in Melaka ahead of the state election, Anwar said Loke had written to him to resign with immediate effect, but that as prime minister he had yet to accept it.
Anwar said he had no objection if Loke wanted to take a short break, but the resignation itself would have to be discussed again.
He described Loke, who is also DAP secretary-general and the MP for Seremban, as clean and trustworthy, and said he was among the hardest-working ministers and was well regarded by officials at the Transport Ministry. Anwar said Loke had introduced initiatives at the ministry that benefited the public.
Loke announced on Tuesday (Nov 10) that he had stepped down as transport minister with immediate effect, after the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered that former prime minister Najib Razak serve the rest of his SRC International sentence under house arrest at his home in Jalan Langgak Duta. Under the order, Najib will remain under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, and return to Kajang Prison the next day to serve his sentence in the 1MDB case.
Loke first offered to resign in September, after Najib was granted a conditional pardon, but stayed on at Anwar’s request and said the resignation would take effect only once Najib began serving his sentence at home.
He has since said he would stop carrying out his ministerial duties, and that DAP and its elected representatives would continue to support the unity government.
No replacement has been named. Under the Federal Constitution, ministers are appointed by the King on the advice of the prime minister.
The Transport Ministry is responsible for land, sea and air transport, including public transport, road safety and vehicle licensing, which affect millions of Malaysians every day.