KUALA LUMPUR — Anthony Loke has announced his resignation as DAP Negeri Sembilan chairman, saying he was taking responsibility for the party’s performance in the state election.
The DAP secretary-general said the decision was made voluntarily and was not due to pressure from any party, local media reported.
Loke, who is also Transport Minister, said the time had come for him to relinquish the position and allow new leadership to take charge of the state party machinery.
“It’s time for me to step down as the state chairman and hand it over to the state leadership to appoint and choose from the existing committee members,” he said at a press conference after the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting here today.
He later reiterated that the decision was his own, adding that it was the right time to pass the responsibility to new leaders after more than two decades at the helm.
“This decision to resign is my own personal decision.
“For me, this is the best time to hand over the position to new leaders after 22 years of leading the state,” he said at a special press conference tonight.
In the 16th Negeri Sembilan state election held on Saturday, DAP won nine of the 11 state seats it contested.
However, Loke failed to retain the Chennah state seat after losing to MCA candidate Siow Kong Choon of Barisan Nasional (BN) by a majority of 688 votes.
DAP also lost the Repah state seat, where its candidate S Veerapan was narrowly defeated by BN’s Koh Kim Swee with a majority of 444 votes.
Loke’s defeat marked the first time he had lost an elected seat after serving as the Chennah assemblyman since 2004 before moving to the state seat in the previous election. – August 3, 2026