Anthony Loke has stepped down as transport minister with immediate effect after the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest, NST reported.
Loke said the resignation was in line with the principled stance he announced earlier. It followed a High Court order on 10 Nov that Najib serve the balance of his six-year SRC International sentence at his Taman Duta residence until 23 Aug 2028, effective immediately. Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin set aside the 6 Nov order for Najib’s discharge upon payment of a fine, replacing it in full with the house arrest order after hearing submissions from both parties, and said the former prime minister was to serve the remaining term under the conditional royal pardon granted on 18 Sept.
“This decision upholds the principles and stance that I have previously explained,” Loke said in a statement, as carried by CNA.
Loke first announced his resignation on 19 Sept, after the Pardons Board granted Najib conditional house arrest. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim later asked him to stay in the post temporarily, and Loke said the resignation would take effect once Najib arrived at his residence to begin house arrest. The DAP secretary-general leads a party that sits in the Pakatan Harapan coalition with Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, and he described the move as a party decision conveying its disagreement with the conditional pardon.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said it would abide by the decree of Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. Najib’s lawyer, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said the former prime minister was expected to begin serving his sentence at home after stopping at Kajang Prison, where officers would read out the conditions before taking him to Taman Duta.
Loke thanked Anwar for the trust and mandate given to him to serve in the cabinet since December 2022, and expressed appreciation to the Transport Ministry’s top management and staff. He said he would extend his full cooperation to ensure a smooth transition of duties, so the ministry’s responsibilities and initiatives continue uninterrupted for the public. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh said she should have stepped down as well, but that Loke wanted DAP members in the cabinet to complete the work they had promised. “In the end, he paid the price himself,” she wrote on Facebook, according to The Star.
Najib is expected to be transferred from Kajang Prison to his residence in Langgak Duta on 10 Nov evening, once prison procedures are completed.
