Najib’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party is crowdfunding to help pay his fine, and has raised some RM9.25 million so far.
Najib’s lawyers have said a significant part of their client’s assets remains subject to freezing orders and enforcement proceedings.
His son, Nizar Najib, said last Saturday that even if his father’s frozen assets were released, his family would still be unable to immediately raise the RM50 million.
MIXED REACTIONS TO LOKE’S MOVE
Loke’s resignation has drawn mixed reactions from various political factions in Malaysia.
Those from PH have noted his track record as transport minister and called on him to stay, while detractors have said his gesture was merely “noise” and questioned if he would follow through with it.
Member of Parliament for Pasir Gudang Hassan Abdul Karim from PKR last week called on Anwar to persuade Loke to remain as transport minister to ensure the completion of several key infrastructure projects.
Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng from DAP described Loke as “possibly the most effective transport minister” and said his departure from the federal Cabinet would be a major loss to the state.
Lim credited Loke for securing approval for more than RM21 billion in critical transport infrastructure for Penang.
Meanwhile, opposition politician Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia has called Loke’s resignation “firecracker politics”.
He noted that Minister for Housing and Local Government Nga Kor Ming, also from DAP, had previously said he would resign if Najib was released without serving an appropriate sentence.
“Nga said the same thing before. He didn’t resign either. They act as if they’re going to take action, but nothing gets done. It’s firecracker politics. Lots of noise, then silence,” Sanusi said on Sep 20, as reported by Free Malaysia Today.
