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SHAH ALAM - Several DAP leaders, including National Chairman Gobind Singh Deo and National Deputy Chairman Nga Kor Ming, reportedly expressed their willingness to resign from the Cabinet during the party's emergency Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting yesterday.
According to a report by Oriental Daily, citing a source, the possibility of a mass resignation involving DAP ministers and deputy ministers was raised during the meeting.
The source said the meeting reached an impasse at one point, with Nga reportedly suggesting that DAP's Cabinet representatives resign together.
“It does not make sense for only the secretary-general to resign — what about the others? Initially, almost everyone felt that if they were to resign, they should resign together; if they were to stay, everyone should stay,” the source was quoted as saying.
However, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke reportedly maintained his position that he alone should resign as Transport Minister, despite differing views within the meeting.
The source said Loke stated why he needed to step down personally and why other DAP leaders should remain in the government, before members of the meeting eventually accepted his proposal.
“If the secretary-general resigns, followed by Nga Kor Ming, then Gobind Singh, and after that Hannah Yeoh also resigns, that would already amount to a mass resignation,” the source said.
According to the source, DAP had to balance its moral responsibility in politics against the political risks that could follow if the party's representatives left the government entirely.
“It is not that we (DAP) did not consider the implications of leaving the government completely.
“But we believe that now is not the time to push for mass resignations or the dissolution of Parliament.
“After a complete resignation, there are still many other possibilities that could arise,” the source told the Chinese daily.
The source added that although the meeting had reached an impasse and there was a possibility of mass resignations, Loke eventually insisted that he would represent DAP by resigning from his Cabinet post to demonstrate the party's position.
The other DAP leaders, meanwhile, would remain in the government and shoulder the pressure that would follow.
The source said that although Nga, who is Housing and Local Government Minister, is now facing calls from several Malay leaders to also resign, Loke ultimately managed to convince those at the meeting that if someone had to represent the party's position, it should be the party's highest-ranking leader — the secretary-general himself.
At the same time, the other DAP leaders should remain in the government and carry out their responsibilities to ensure the stability of the Unity Government anchored by Pakatan Harapan.
Nga had previously made remarks during the Johor election campaign in July that he would resign if Najib was released without serving his sentence.
Nga subsequently clarified that his pledge applied if Najib were released without serving a sentence commensurate with his offence.
“Anthony Loke has certainly shown courage by resigning, but Nga Kor Ming also needs greater political courage to remain, because the pressure and attacks he will face from now on can be expected to become stronger,” the source said.
Loke announced yesterday that he would resign as Transport Minister as DAP's response to the decision allowing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.
However, Loke reportedly said that other DAP ministers and deputy ministers would remain in the Unity Government.
On Friday, the Federal Territories Pardons Board announced that Najib, 73, had been granted a conditional pardon allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to conditions including payment of a RM50 million fine.
