Malaysia PM Anwar yet to accept Loke’s resignation as transport minister

MELAKA: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Thursday (Nov 12) he has yet to accept Democratic Action Party (DAP) chief Anthony Loke’s resignation as transport minister, adding that the matter is still up for discussion. 

Anwar, who spoke at two Pakatan Harapan rallies in Melaka ahead of this weekend's state election, also rejected accusations that he had been disloyal to the king on the issue of former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s conditional pardon, over which Loke tendered his resignation, saying he continued to enjoy a good relationship with the monarch. 

“Loke has tendered his resignation, but I haven’t accepted it,” Anwar said at the start of his speech in the bellwether constituency of Bukit Katil. 

“If he wants to take a short break, that’s fine. But if he wants to resign, we’ll have to discuss it further,” added Anwar, who is also chairman of PH, the anchor coalition in Malaysia's unity government. 

Anwar defended Loke’s performance, saying the minister had consistently offered constructive suggestions to improve public welfare.

“He is trustworthy, hardworking and gives a lot of suggestions to improve the lives of the people,” he said.

“That is why I said it is strange that people want a good minister like him to step down while asking those who perform poorly to stay on. What kind of upside-down world is this?”

On Tuesday, Loke resigned as Malaysia's transport minister "effective immediately", following the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision to allow Najib to serve his sentence under house arrest.

Loke first announced his resignation in September to protest the conditional royal pardon granted to Najib.

He later said Anwar had asked him to remain in his post temporarily, and that he would remain as transport minister until Najib began his house arrest. 

Loke – whose DAP is part of the governing PH coalition with Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) – had previously said his resignation was a party decision to convey its disagreement with the conditional royal pardon.

Loke’s resignation has been met with criticism from various quarters during the Melaka election, especially from PH’s partner in the federal government Barisan Nasional (BN). 

BN politicians, especially leaders from its lynchpin party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), have criticised Loke’s resignation, with the party’s vice-president Mohamad Hasan saying it called into question the monarch's constitutional power to grant pardons.

BN and PH are partners in Anwar’s unity government, but they are clashing in the Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka state polls held this year. 

Johor and Negeri Sembilan held their state elections on Jul 11 and Aug 1, respectively, this year. Melaka will head to the polls on Saturday. 

BN is part of a political pact with the federal opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional, which comprises the Islamist party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Parti Wawasan Negara (Wawasan), alongside other smaller parties. 

“LIKE CHINESE OPERA”

At a separate party rally in Melaka on Thursday night, leader of the opposition bench and Wawasan chief Hamzah Zainudin dismissed the resignation episode as political theatrics, suggesting that an arrangement had already been made behind the scenes.

“This is like Chinese opera. You resign, but there is a deal behind the scenes where Anwar will ask you to retract,” he said.

Hamzah added that both PN and BN respected the king’s decisions and would oppose anyone who challenged them.

“I would like to stress that for BN and PN, we revere the orders of the King, and if anyone opposes them, we will oppose them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Anwar also addressed the controversy surrounding his involvement in Najib’s pardon, acknowledging that he had raised the matter for consideration. 

“Yes, I was the one who raised the pardon for consideration in 2023,” he said.

Anwar said he had faced criticism over his involvement in the process, regardless of the position he took.

“Now, some of my friends are saying, ‘Look, Anwar was the one who did this. He betrayed us.’ If I don’t do it, I’m a traitor. If I do it, I’m still a traitor.”

He stressed that raising the matter for consideration did not mean he supported granting Najib a pardon or placing him under house arrest, but was part of a constitutional process that had to be respected.

Anwar’s remarks came as a video of him speaking in parliament in 2024 resurfaced and circulated widely online in recent days. 

In the clip, Anwar acknowledged that he had brought Najib's pardon application before the Pardons Board in 2024.

"I was the one who ensured that Najib's pardon application was put on the agenda. Why did I do it? Because I felt it deserved to be considered," Anwar said.

At the time, PH and BN were allies in the federal government. Their relationship has since become strained, with the two coalitions going head-to-head in recent state elections. 

BN is the incumbent in the Melaka state government, and together with PN, the alliance is widely expected to secure a landslide victory on polling day. 

The victory is expected to ramp up pressure on Anwar. Leaders for the two coalitions are expected to intensify calls for parliament to be dissolved to pave the way for Malaysia’s 16th General Election, which must be held by February 2028.

However, in his rally speech on Thursday, Anwar was adamant that he was personally not in favour of granting Najib house arrest, but maintained he still respected the decision by the King, Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. 

Anwar said he had also expressed reservations about the timing of any such decision, given the government's efforts to combat corruption.

“In fact, I said perhaps our society is not ready. Because we are fighting a war against corruption. We do not want to send the wrong message,” he said.

“But His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, out of His Majesty’s compassion and after considering all the factors, decreed, ‘Grant house arrest.’ We comply. That is the Agong’s power, not the prime minister’s power,” he said.

“They accused me of being disloyal to the king. I am the prime minister, and the king called me this afternoon. We have a good relationship,” he said.