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KUALA LUMPUR – Anthony Loke’s resignation as Transport Minister is “not real” because it comes with a condition, and veteran politician Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew is wasting no words in tearing into both the move and the party Loke leads.
Liu, a former DAP stalwart of 41 years, questioned why Loke’s resignation should depend on when former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak begins serving the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
“Personally, I think the resignation is not real. If you really want to resign, then you resign. You don’t set a condition that has nothing to do with yourself,” he told Sinar Daily.
Loke, who is also DAP secretary-general, submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sept 28.
However, he said it would only take effect once Najib returns home to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
To Liu, that makes the resignation an unusual arrangement.
“If you resign, you resign. You don’t resign conditionally because of somebody else,” he said.
But Liu’s criticism did not stop at Loke.
The former DAP man launched an equally pointed attack on the party itself, accusing it of losing the voice and character that once defined it after becoming part of the government.
His verdict was blunt, saying that the DAP he once knew had become the “Diam Action Party”.
Liu said DAP had become less vocal on issues it previously championed, suggesting that its position as part of the government had changed the way it operated.
“I tried to bring changes from within, but after many years, I failed. So I decided to leave the party because I did not want to stay and create more problems internally,” he added.
Liu left DAP in June 2023 after 41 years in the party, citing developments within DAP that he said had gone beyond his expectations. He is currently Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Information Chief.
His attack on DAP comes against the backdrop of Loke’s decision to offer his resignation over the Najib house arrest issue, while DAP’s other Cabinet members remain in government.
Liu also took aim at the wider performance of the Madani government, saying he remained dissatisfied with what he described as a lack of reforms and poorly implemented policies.
At state level, he cited issues involving the cessation of pig farming in Selangor and disturbances involving temples.
At federal level, he pointed to e-invoicing and the Sales and Service Tax (SST), as well as difficulties faced by small and medium enterprises.
For Liu, the problem is not simply one resignation or one policy. It is about what he sees as a broader departure from the political principles he once believed DAP stood for.
Liu said he stayed away from active politics for about three and a half years before returning after being encouraged by friends.
He subsequently joined PBM, saying he was attracted by its non-racial approach.
“Multiracial is different from non-racial. Non-racial means we talk about citizens and Malaysians.
“I believe the way forward is non-racial politics, where everything is based on the citizen, based on Malaysians and the concept of Bangsa Malaysia,” he said.
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