Anthony Loke Resigns as Transport Minister Over Najib House Arrest

Anthony Loke, Malaysia’s transport minister and secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party, resigned from cabinet on September 19 in protest against the conditional pardon granted to former prime minister Najib Razak. The pardon allows Najib to serve his remaining sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028, subject to a RM50 million fine. Loke’s exit signals serious strain within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition, though the DAP will keep other ministers in government to prevent political instability.

Why Loke stepped down

Loke announced his resignation after a three-hour Democratic Action Party central executive committee meeting on Saturday. He told reporters the party could not accept Najib serving his sentence at home rather than in prison. “We find it difficult to accept,” Loke said, “not just for us, but many Malaysians.” The DAP, the largest party by parliamentary seats in Anwar’s coalition, decided Loke’s individual resignation would register the party’s objection without destabilizing the government.

The pardon and its conditions

Sultan Ibrahim, Malaysia’s king, granted the conditional pardon on Friday following a meeting of the Federal Territory Pardon Board. Najib, 73, has been imprisoned since August 2022 over abuse of power related to SRC International, a former unit of state investment fund 1MDB. He was convicted of siphoning 42 million ringgit (US$10.3 million) from the fund. The pardon requires him to pay RM50 million, roughly US$12.26 million, as part of the house arrest arrangement.

Najib claims he cannot pay the fine

Najib’s legal team released a statement on Sunday saying the required payment “does not lie in his own hands.” The statement noted that a significant portion of Najib’s assets, bank accounts, and properties remain frozen under government enforcement orders and are not within his sole control. His lawyers said he is “presently taking advice and considering his options” on how to meet the payment condition. Meanwhile, a solidarity fund launched by his party UMNO raised more than RM634,000 within three hours of its launch and reached RM1 million by Saturday morning, with many contributors giving as little as RM10 and RM50.

Legal and political backlash

The G25 group, a civil society organization, called for the attorney-general’s written opinion on the house arrest decision to be made public. The group noted that Justice Alice Loke previously ruled in a High Court case that a house arrest order was incapable of execution because Malaysia has no legal provision for such a mechanism. G25 questioned what legal authority now exists to support the pardon board’s decision and called for the board to revisit the decision at its earliest meeting. Legal experts have described the arrangement as an unprecedented use of house arrest in Malaysia’s criminal justice system.

Final Thoughts

Loke’s resignation reflects deep divisions within Anwar’s coalition over the pardon, but the DAP’s decision to keep other ministers in cabinet suggests the government will survive the immediate crisis. The unresolved payment condition and legal questions surrounding the house arrest mechanism could fuel further political tension in the coming months.

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