[UPDATE] Loke offers to resign as transport minister

Kuala Lumpur: DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook (pic) has offered to resign as transport minister following the conditional pardon granted to former prime minister Najib Razak.

At a press conference, Loke said he would be the only DAP leader offering to resign to ensure political stability.

He said DAP is aware that certain parties want the party to leave the Cabinet as a whole so they can achieve their political ambitions.

Loke added that DAP refuses to entertain these “provocative” rivals.

“We are aware that there are parties out there that are waiting for DAP to leave the government, so they can create political instability and cause Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to lose his majority support and then dissolve Parliament.

“DAP is well aware of their political games and their hope that we will make a decision that helps achieve their goals. But we will not give them the opportunity to do so. We don’t want to give ammunition to our adversaries.

“At the same time, we have our stand (on Najib’s conditional pardon). That stand is conveyed through my offer to resign,” he said, adding that he would submit his resignation letter to Anwar soon.

He maintained that DAP’s decision that only he should offer to step down was “a responsible one”.

Loke also said his resignation, if accepted by the prime minister, would not jeopardise the transport ministry’s operations.

However, he said he would need some time to manage outstanding matters within the ministry before officially stepping down from the post.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Department announced that the king decided to allow Najib to serve the remainder of a six-year jail sentence at his home, provided he pays his RM50 million fine in his SRC International case.

Under the conditional pardon, the former prime minister will serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to the payment of the fine.

Najib, 73, has been serving a six-year sentence at Kajang prison after the Federal Territories Pardons Board halved his original 12-year sentence in February 2024. The original RM210 million fine was also reduced to RM50 million.