KUALA LUMPUR: DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke is no stranger to the political arena of the country and is considered a magnanimous figure.
The Seremban member of parliament is one of the leaders who has often been outspoken in fighting for the rights of the community 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 not surprising.
The appointment of Loke as the transport minister as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday, was a logical step.
Loke joined DAP in 1994 as an ordinary member and held the position of DAP Youth chief before being elected Negri Sembilan DAP chairman in 2004, a position he still holds.
In the 11th General Election (GE11) in 2004, he won the Lobak state seat and was then appointed 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 also appointed as the secretary of the DAP Political Education Bureau.
In 2012, he 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 seat to the Seremban parliamentary constituency and Chennah state seat in Jelebu, and emerged winner in both.
Apart from that, he also held the position of DAP national organising secretary and CEC member and was appointed as a member of the DAP Election Bureau and DAP Pakatan Rakyat Bureau in the party's 2013 election then.
In GE14, Loke who also holds a Master's in Public Administration from Universiti Malaya defended the Seremban seat with a majority of 30,694 votes.
On March 20, he was appointed the new DAP secretary-general replacing Lim Guan Eng who was elected national chairman.
In GE15, on Nov 19, he 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 Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional, Pejuang and Bebas. — BERNAMA