KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke will proceed with his official working visit to China as scheduled, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) confirmed today, following his offer to step down from Cabinet over the conditional royal pardon granted to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
In a statement, the ministry said Loke will lead Malaysia’s delegation to the 12th Apec Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Beijing. His itinerary includes several high-level bilateral meetings alongside the signing of two key memoranda of understanding (MoUs).
The first agreement focuses on broad transport cooperation between the governments of Malaysia and China, spanning land, rail, maritime, aviation, and logistics sectors.
The second MoU establishes a framework for aviation safety cooperation between the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
The pact covers airworthiness, airline designations, personnel licensing, operational oversight, and the reciprocal recognition of airworthiness certifications and flight crew licences.
Following the Beijing engagements, Loke will travel to Shanghai to join Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s official delegation. He will subsequently return to Malaysia “to attend to matters relating to the process of his appointment as minister of transport”, the ministry said, without expanding on the specifics of the process.
The MOT added that all administrative functions and day-to-day ministerial duties will continue to operate as usual.
Loke, who serves as DAP secretary-general and Seremban MP, announced on Saturday that he had offered to resign as transport minister following a nearly three-hour emergency DAP central executive committee (CEC) meeting at the party’s national headquarters in Pudu.
He explained that he would submit his formal resignation letter to Anwar in due course while retaining his party leadership and parliamentary seat. He confirmed that all other DAP ministers and deputy ministers will remain in the unity government.
Yesterday, Anwar clarified that he had not yet received a formal resignation letter from Loke, saying that they would deliberate on the matter when they meet in person.
The matter comes after the Federal Territories Pardons Board’s decision on Friday granting Najib a conditional pardon, permitting him to serve the remainder of his SRC International custodial sentence under house arrest until August 23, 2028, subject to a RM50 million fine and other statutory conditions.
