Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged Transport Minister Anthony Loke to reconsider his offer to resign from the Cabinet following the decision to grant former Prime Minister Najib Razak a conditional pardon and allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
Anwar said he would meet Loke to hear his explanation before deciding how to respond to the resignation offer. He said he had deliberately given the Democratic Action Party (DAP) secretary-general time and did not want to rush the matter.
Loke offered to resign on Sept. 19 after a three-hour meeting of DAP’s Central Executive Committee. He said the decision reflected the party’s longstanding position on corruption and accountability, while stressing that DAP’s other ministers and deputy ministers would remain in the government.
The dispute followed the Sept. 18 decision by Malaysia’s Pardons Board to grant Najib a conditional pardon. Under the arrangement, Najib can serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug. 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50 million fine.
Anwar said Loke was not responsible for the pardon decision and had opposed it during the process. He also argued that DAP should not respond to calls for the entire party to withdraw from the unity government, saying such a move could create political instability.
Loke’s position has created a delicate situation for DAP, which remains part of Anwar’s governing coalition. When announcing his resignation offer, Loke said the party respected the King’s constitutional authority to grant pardons but found the outcome difficult to accept given its longstanding stance on the 1MDB scandal and corruption.
Anwar acknowledged that DAP and Pakatan Harapan had maintained a firm position on corruption and that this made the Pardons Board decision difficult for Loke and the party to defend. He said Loke’s resignation offer should not be interpreted as opposition to the MADANI Government or to DAP’s continued cooperation within the unity administration.
The prime minister also rejected allegations of a secret political agreement between his administration and Umno over Najib’s pardon. Anwar said the government had conveyed its views, including the position presented by the attorney general during the Pardons Board meeting, while emphasizing that the constitutional authority over pardons rests with the King.
Loke, however, said on Sept. 23 that he remained firm on his decision and planned to submit his resignation letter after returning from China. He is currently in China after representing Malaysia at the APEC Transportation Ministerial Meeting in Beijing.
The immediate issue is now whether Anwar can persuade Loke to withdraw his resignation offer, while DAP continues to balance its objections to the Najib decision with its participation in the unity government. The outcome could shape the relationship between DAP and the administration as Malaysia heads toward its next general election, which is due by early 2028.
