Transport Minister Anthony Loke resigns as Najib returns home to begin house arrest

Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook has resigned from his position following the arrival of former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at his residence to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. According to the New Straits Times, Loke submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sept.

28 after the Pardons Board decided to allow the house arrest. Loke stated that his resignation reflects the position of his party, the DAP, noting that while the party respects the prerogative of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, they believe granting Najib house arrest could send an inappropriate message to future generations due to the significant impact of his scandal on the country’s economy and image.

The New Straits Times reports Loke served as Transport Minister for 47 months, from December 2022 until his resignation. Najib, 73, was permitted to serve his sentence under house arrest after Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim agreed to a royal pardon in September, contingent upon the payment of a 50 million ringgit fine. DW English (Top Stories) and Daily Maverick report that Najib’s party, UMNO, used crowdfunding to pay the fine because his bank accounts were frozen.

Najib, who served as prime minister from 2009 to 2018, was convicted in relation to the 1MDB corruption scandal involving the embezzlement of funds from a state investment fund he co-founded. Daily Maverick reports that Najib's lawyer, Farhan Shafee, stated a court order was issued to allow the transfer to house arrest. DW English (Top Stories) notes Najib had been serving a six-year sentence since 2022.

Brief written by urgent.news from Malay Mail, New Straits Times, Daily Maverick, DW News, DW English (Top Stories) — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.