Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim but will remain in office until former prime minister Najib Razak begins serving the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
Loke said he personally handed his resignation letter to Anwar on Sept. 28. The prime minister asked him to continue performing his duties for the time being, with the resignation to take effect once Najib returns home. No successor has been appointed to the Transport Ministry.
Loke said the resignation reflects the Democratic Action Party’s position on Najib’s house arrest arrangement. DAP has opposed the conditional pardon that allows Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, while other DAP ministers have remained in the government.
Najib was granted a conditional pardon on Sept. 18 that allows him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug. 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50 million fine. He is serving a sentence linked to his conviction in the SRC International case.
Anwar has said he will discuss Loke’s resignation. He also noted that Loke had only submitted the resignation letter the previous day, leaving the timing of any Cabinet change to be determined.
For now, Loke continues to oversee the Transport Ministry while the government determines the next steps. He also said there is currently no designated replacement for the position.
