James Chin, a professor of Asian studies at the University of Tasmania, however, feels that any damage to Anwar and PH is likely contained because the public had long anticipated Najib’s eventual release following his initial royal pardon in 2024.
Najib, 73, had been in jail since August 2022 when the Pardons Board announced in February 2024 that his initial 12-year prison sentence and RM210 million (US$51.5 million) fine for his conviction in the corruption case linked to SRC International would be halved to six years and an RM50 million fine.
It was then that Najib claimed that a supplementary addendum order – also issued by the then-king from Pahang – permitted him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest instead of at Kajang Prison.
That Najib’s potential house arrest had been known since then minimised any true shock factor from the latest developments, Chin said.
Chin also felt that Loke’s resignation was an “overreaction” driven by fear of losing the Chinese community’s trust, even though neither DAP nor Anwar held the legal authority to block the royal pardon.
“DAP felt they must do something very public to show to the Chinese community that they don’t agree with this decision,” he said.
“It’s a stupid move because the Chinese community also knows that DAP or even Anwar cannot stop this process, because the pardon is at the absolute discretion of the king.”
UNITY GOVERNMENT STABLE FOR NOW
While Loke’s resignation is a “damaging signal” for PH given that DAP has the lion’s share of the coalition’s seats in parliament, Najib’s house arrest would not pose an immediate threat to the unity government’s survival, another political analyst told CNA.
“DAP’s continued parliamentary support and the presence of its other ministers limit the immediate risk,” said Asrul Sani, a partner at strategic advisory firm ADA Southeast Asia.
Anwar continues to retain support from several Borneo-based parties and coalitions, and in October seven opposition lawmakers agreed to support his government on key parliamentary votes.
Syaza also expects the federal PH-BN pact to stay intact, especially since UMNO got what it wanted in respect to Najib.
“I think they know support for them is slowly improving and it makes sense for them to continue staying in government for now,” she said.
UMNO accounts for 26 of BN’s 30 seats in parliament.
