Minor Cabinet reshuffle of DAP leaders expected after Loke’s exit

Analysts expect Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to conduct a minor Cabinet reshuffle of DAP leaders following the resignation of the party’s secretary-general, Loke Siew Fook, as transport minister.

Akademi Nusantara’s Azmi Hassan said one of the four remaining DAP ministers could act as transport minister in the interim, or one of the party’s seven deputy ministers could be promoted to a full ministership.

“I don’t expect a major Cabinet reshuffle but a reshuffle among DAP MPs, involving those currently holding deputy minister or minister posts,” he told FMT.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania said Anwar would not be hard-pressed to name Loke’s successor for the senior portfolio as DAP had many capable MPs from which the prime minister could choose.

He said the easiest way to proceed would be for Loke to recommend his successor.

“The easiest way for Loke to deal with this is to pick the next most senior DAP minister, move him to Loke’s post, and pick a new DAP leader to serve in one of the party’s more junior ministries.

“Who knows? They’ve got lots of capable people in the DAP leadership,” he added.

Loke stepped down as transport minister on Tuesday after the High Court issued a revised order allowing Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his SRC International prison sentence under house arrest.

The former prime minister arrived at his home in Taman Duta, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday night. He will serve the remainder of his jail term there until Aug 23, 2028.

DAP has four ministers left in the Cabinet: Gobind Singh Deo (digital), Steven Sim (entrepreneur development and cooperatives), Nga Kor Ming (housing and local government) and Hannah Yeoh (federal territories).

It also has seven deputy ministers: M Kulasegaran (law and institutional reform), Liew Chin Tong (finance), Wong Kah Woh (education), Chan Foong Hin (agriculture and food security), Lim Hui Ying (women, family and community development), Mordi Bimol (youth and sports) and Teo Nie Ching (communications).

‘Loke’s resignation unnecessary’

Chin nonetheless described Loke’s resignation over Najib’s house arrest as a “big mistake” as neither the party nor the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government had a say over the conditional pardon.

He said DAP was not in any position to block Najib from serving his remaining jail term under house arrest as part of the conditional pardon granted by the king.

“They have no influence over the conditional pardon, which is the absolute prerogative of the king. So I don’t know why he’s making such a big deal of the issue, over which neither DAP nor the government has any control.”

Chin said it was clear that Loke was hoping to appease the urban, Chinese electorate who usually support PH, but pushing the government to execute long-awaited political reforms was more crucial to their support.

However, Azmi said it was high time that Loke followed through with his resignation pledge, saying the issue had put PH on the backfoot in the Melaka state election campaign.

He said Loke became the subject of ridicule by his rivals after announcing his resignation in September, only to say it would take effect once Najib was released from prison.

“It put Anwar in a very, very awkward position, trying to defend Loke. And Umno has been relentlessly using this particular issue, including Loke’s delay in resigning, which has put PH on the defensive.

“This had a negative effect on PH candidates in Melaka. So I think it’s good for DAP. It would temper some of the political ammunition Umno and PAS have been using in their campaign,” he said.

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