MELAKA, Nov 12 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants to hold further discussions with Anthony Loke over the Seremban MP's resignation as Transport Minister.
Anwar said he has not yet decided on Loke's resignation letter, which he received earlier, as he wanted to discuss the matter with him first.
“Yes, Loke did write to me tendering his immediate resignation, but as Prime Minister, I have not accepted it.
“For now, he wants to take a short break, and that is fine. But we need to discuss his resignation again,” he said during the Grand Finale of the Melaka Pakatan Harapan Rumah Kita tour in Bukit Baru today.
Anwar added that Loke had a clean and trustworthy track record in government and had also worked hard to introduce various initiatives at the Transport Ministry for the benefit of the people.
“We appointed Loke as a minister because he is trustworthy and clean. He works hard and has put forward many proposals, projects, and programmes to make travel easier for the public and taxi drivers.
“He is among the hardest-working ministers and is well regarded by ministry officials. 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?” he said.
On Tuesday (November 10), Loke announced that he was resigning with immediate effect following the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision allowing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
The court ordered that Najib, 73, serve the remainder of his sentence in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case under house arrest at his residence in Langgak Duta, with immediate effect.
Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin made the ruling after setting aside an order issued by the Kuala Lumpur High Court Criminal Registry on Friday (November 6).
Under the new order, Najib will remain under house arrest until August 23, 2028, before returning to the Kajang Prison on August 24, 2028, to serve his sentence in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) case.
