Anthony Loke returns to familiar ground at Transport Ministry

DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke is no stranger to the political arena of the country as a magnanimous figure.

The Seremban MP is one of the leaders who has often been outspoken in fighting for the rights of the people while in the Dewan Rakyat - in the opposition bloc.

In fact, Loke's excellent performance, when he was transport minister previously, made his appointment in the current unity government cabinet to be not surprising.

The appointment of Loke (above) as transport minister, as announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, can be described as a duck to water.

This is because Loke, 45, led Transport Ministry from May 21, 2018 to Feb 24, 2020 - during the Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) administration, and he was one of the ministers who had an excellent record in carrying out his duties and was well-liked by many.

In his endeavour in the political arena, Loke joined DAP in 1994 as an ordinary member and held the position of DAP Youth chief (Dapsy) before being elected as Negeri Sembilan DAP chairperson from 2004 until now.

In the 11th general election (GE11) in 2004, he won the Lobak state seat and was then appointed as DAP's director of political education for the 2004-2007 term, as well as winning a seat in DAP’s central executive committee (CEC).

In GE12, the Seremban-born successfully defended the Lobak state seat for a second term, besides capturing the Rasah parliamentary seat, as well as winning the party's election as a member of the CEC for the 2008-2011 term.

He was then appointed as secretary of the DAP’s political education bureau.

In 2012, Loke once again remained a member of DAP’s CEC for the 2012-2015 term and was elected as DAP national organising secretary and a member of the Pakatan Rakyat bureau representing DAP.

His career in politics continued to grow when in GE13, Loke switched to the Seremban parliamentary constituency and Chennah state seat in Jelebu - and emerged winner for both seats.

Apart from that, he also held on the position of DAP national organising secretary and CEC member - and was appointed as a member of the DAP election bureau and Pakatan Rakyat bureau in the party's 2013 election

In GE14, Loke, who also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Developmental Science from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, defended the Seremban parliamentary seat with a majority of 30,694 votes.

On March 20, he was appointed as the new DAP secretary-general replacing Lim Guan Eng, who was elected as national chairperson in the party election at the 17th DAP national congress.

In GE15, Loke once again managed to maintain his dominance in the Seremban parliamentary seat after obtaining a majority of 30,841 votes, defeating four other challengers from BN, Perikatan Nasional, Pejuang and Bebas.

Based on the credibility and excellent performance of Loke, who has held the transport minister position before, it is hoped that the country's public transport will get more attention, especially in improving public transport efficiency.

- Bernama