THE recent DAP emergency Central Executive Committee meeting briefly considered a mass resignation of its ministers and deputies, with Deputy Chairman Nga Kor Ming reportedly proposing that the party’s Cabinet representatives step down together over former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s conditional pardon.
The proposal emerged during a three-hour CEC meeting on Saturday, according to a source cited by Chinese-language daily Oriental Daily, after several DAP leaders, including National Chairman Gobind Singh Deo and Nga expressed a desire to resign.
The idea of resigning en masse did arise during the emergency DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting.
“Other leaders, including Kor Ming, who is now the focus of public attention, wanted to take the same position as Anthony at the time.
“In fact, the meeting reached an impasse. Kor Ming also proposed that they resign together.
“He said it did not make sense for only the Secretary-General to resign, so what about the others? Initially, almost all DAP CEC members felt that if they were going to resign, they should all resign together. If they were going to stay, then everyone should stay,” the source was quoted as saying.
However, Loke, who had offered to resign as Transport Minister in response to Najib’s conditional pardon, argued that he should be the sole DAP Cabinet member to step down while the party’s other ministers remained in the Unity Government.
The source said Loke explained both why he needed to resign and why the other DAP leaders should remain in government, eventually securing the meeting’s agreement.
“If Anthony resigns and then Kor Ming and Gobind Singh follow, and after that Hannah Yeoh also resigns, it would already amount to a mass resignation,” the source said.
The source said DAP also considered the political risks of leaving the government completely, including the possibility of greater political uncertainty and the dissolution of Parliament.
“It was not that we (DAP) did not consider the implications of leaving the government completely.
“But we felt that the current situation was not the time to push for mass resignations or the dissolution of Parliament.
“After a wholesale resignation, there are still many other possibilities that could arise,” the source said.
The source said the CEC ultimately decided that Loke would resign to represent DAP’s position, while its other ministers and deputy ministers would remain in government in the interest of political stability and Pakatan Harapan’s continued role in the Unity Government.
“Although Kor Ming, who is the Housing and Local Government Minister, is facing calls from several Malay leaders to resign as well.
“Anthony ultimately succeeded in convincing everyone that if someone needed to come forward to represent the party’s position, it should be the party’s highest-ranking leader, namely himself as DAP Secretary-General.
“Anthony certainly showed courage by resigning, but Kor Ming also needs greater political courage to withstand the pressure and attacks that will follow,” the source said.
Loke subsequently announced that he would offer his resignation as Transport Minister to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, while DAP’s other ministers would remain in Cabinet to maintain political stability.
The decision followed the conditional pardon granted to Najib, allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest until Aug 23, 2028, subject to an RM50 million fine and other conditions. - September 21, 2026
