Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he will discuss Anthony Loke’s decision to step down as Transport Minister, after the Cabinet member handed him his resignation letter on Monday.
Anwar said he received the letter from Loke, who is also DAP secretary-general, but had to leave for the funeral of Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali before the two could talk, Malay Mail reported.
“Anthony Loke, he just submitted his letter yesterday, I was rushing to Tun Dr Siti Hasmah’s funeral,” Anwar told reporters after launching the Malaysia Professional Day conference at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on 29 September. “What’s the problem? His work has been good, his performance as a minister is also good. So I will discuss this.”
Anwar also questioned why the resignation had drawn so much attention when other issues deserved scrutiny. “What is the problem with Anthony Loke? The problem is corruption. The problem is robbery and stealing public funds,” he said, according to The Star.
Loke said on 29 September that he will remain in the post until former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak begins his house arrest, a timeframe he said was agreed with the Prime Minister. “During the discussion, he asked me to continue carrying out my duties for the time being,” Loke told reporters at Malaysia Maritime Week 2026, CNA quoted him as saying.
Loke handed the letter to Anwar after the two met on 28 September. He said he had told the Prime Minister there needed to be a limit on how long he stayed, and that his resignation takes effect on the day Najib returns home. “It has not happened yet so I am still serving and there is no replacement yet,” he said.
Loke announced his resignation on 19 September after an emergency meeting of DAP’s central executive committee. He described it as a party decision to convey the party’s disagreement with the conditional pardon granted to Najib, which allows the former premier to serve the rest of his term at home.
Sultan Ibrahim, the King of Malaysia, consented to the conditional pardon on 18 September. It lets Najib serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until 23 August 2028, subject to him settling a RM50 million fine.
Najib has been serving a 12-year jail term at Kajang Prison since his conviction in the SRC International case in August 2022. In 2024, the Pardons Board cut the sentence to six years and reduced the fine from RM210 million to RM50 million.
Anwar did not say when the discussion with Loke would take place. Loke has said the effective date of his resignation will be decided by the Prime Minister.
