Transport Minister Anthony Loke says his resignation from the Cabinet will take effect once former prime minister Najib Razak returns home to serve his house arrest.
Loke said he had personally handed his resignation letter to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim after meeting him on Monday (Sept 28) to discuss the matter.
‘I want to stress that my resignation letter has been handed directly to the Prime Minister and I had a discussion with him afterwards,’ he said.
Loke said Anwar had asked him to continue carrying out his duties for the time being, adding that the timing of his resignation would ultimately be decided by the Prime Minister.
He was speaking at a press conference after launching Malaysia Maritime Week 2026 on Tuesday (Sept 29).
Loke says there must be a timeframe
The DAP secretary-general said he had also told Anwar that there needed to be a timeframe for his continued tenure as Transport Minister.
Loke said his resignation would take effect once Najib returns home to serve his house arrest, following the former prime minister’s conditional pardon on Sept 18.
‘So, the timeframe is that on the day Najib returns home, my resignation will take effect,’ he said.
Loke to remain in Cabinet for now
Najib’s conditional pardon allows him to serve the remainder of his SRC International sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to payment of a RM50 million fine.
Loke said the arrangement had not yet taken effect, meaning he would continue serving as Transport Minister for now.
‘It has not happened yet so I am still serving and there is no replacement yet,’ he added.
Loke had earlier announced his decision to resign following a DAP Central Executive Committee meeting in response to Najib’s conditional pardon. The resignation concerns his Cabinet position, while other DAP ministers and deputy ministers are to remain in the unity government.
