Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged Transport Minister Anthony Loke to reconsider his decision to resign from the Cabinet following the conditional pardon granted to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Anwar also urged DAP not to bow to pressure from parties he said had political interests in seeing the unity government become unstable.
Defending DAP’s continued participation in the government, Anwar questioned calls for Loke to resign and for the party to withdraw from the coalition.
“Some people ask, why Anthony Loke? Why doesn’t the whole of DAP leave? Whose suggestion is that? Why should he leave? He did nothing wrong. He did not propose the pardon decision; in fact, he tried his best to oppose it,” he told reporters while travelling by high-speed train from Shanghai to Hangzhou.
He said DAP should not give in to pressure from those seeking to weaken the government.
“They want to find ways to weaken the government using this dirty tactic,” he said.
Loke, who is also DAP secretary-general, announced on Sept 19 that he would offer to resign as Transport Minister following the Pardons Board’s decision allowing Najib to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest, subject to a RM50 million fine. DAP’s other Cabinet members said they would remain in the government to maintain political stability.
Anwar said he would meet Loke to hear his views and would ask him to reconsider the resignation.
He acknowledged Loke and DAP’s longstanding position on fighting corruption and kleptocracy, saying this had made the Pardons Board’s decision difficult for the party to accept.
“I gave him space and did not want to rush things because I respect his decision. He is not opposing my decision or the Madani government or cooperation within the unity government.
“He feels it is difficult to defend the Pardons Board’s decision when his party, and even Pakatan Harapan (PH), has held a very firm position on this matter from the beginning,” he said.
Anwar also said the issue and views surrounding it had been conveyed to His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, including the position taken by Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar during the Pardons Board meeting.
He reminded all parties that executive power is subject to the Federal Constitution and that the final decision on a pardon rests with the King.
The Prime Minister also rejected claims by some politicians that there had been a compromise or secret pact between him and the Umno leadership over the matter.
He said the government’s priority was to steer the country, maintain political stability, safeguard relations with the Malay Rulers and drive economic growth.
Anwar also called on Malaysians of all backgrounds to uphold loyalty to the country, using the term “Wangyue” to symbolise loyalty to the government.
