Jho Low Vs Khairy Vs PM

A Kadir Jasin

THE Penang-born international man of mystery, Jho Taek Low, dares to take a swipe at Umno for several reasons.

In an interview with the monthly business magazine, Euromoney he labelled his critics in Umno as spinmasters. His exact words are - those Umno guys are spinmasters.

The magazine’s story was headlined “Jho says it ain’t so: Malaysian tycoon denies role in 1MDB “heist of the century”.

This is what Jho Low had said about the so-called Umno spinmasters. “I’ve never faced this kind of attack from all directions. It's just crazy, and these UMNO guys are spinmasters, they know all this sort of nonsense."
Firstly he may not have much respect for Umno having had the experience of dealing with some of its key leaders over the years.

Secondly the physical distance between him and the Malaysia jurisdiction makes him feel safe.

We don’t know exactly where this son of Penang businessman, (Tan Sri Datuk Seri) Larry Low Hock Peng, is.

Maybe Mohd Najib’s stepson, Riza Shahriz Abdul Aziz, knows but he too is an international jetsetter and may not be easy to locate.Even if we can locate him, he may not want to give us Jlo Low’s address.

The Wolves of Wall Street's Riza, Joey McFarland and Jho Low

We can ask Paris Hilton but she may report us to the US Justice Department for international harassment and that would not be good for us.

We could try his Arab friends but they may say “insya-Allah” (God willing) and never get back to us. I once nearly missed a flight out of an Arab country because my government-assigned driver and guide said “insya-Allah” profusely but did not turned up the next morning. They overslept.

Even if Jho Low said he would come back, there is no guarantee that the authorities would be able to pin him down. Remember he was a smooth operator until his cover was blown during the 2013 general election campaign. Also the investigators may deliberately not ask him certain sensitive questions so that he could be let off the hook.

A young Indian Malaysian entrepreneur told me that Jho Low is located in Hong Kong. Phew…what a relief if that’s true. If he is in Hong Kong, we could use the services of the triads to track him down. His Hong Kong company is called Jynwel Capital Limited.

If Home Minister, (Datuk Seri) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, seems to know the internationally wanted alleged gambling kingpin, Phua Wei Seng aka Paul Phua, well enough to vouch for him in a letter to theFBI, I am sure it will not be a hassle for us to find a totally respectable and dependable triad chief in Hong Kong to track down Jho Low. Or as a quid pro quo, we can ask the FBI to help.

Paul Phua: Ahmad Zaid Vouched for him

Thirdly (or rather firstly) Jho Low dares to lampoon Umno because Mohd Najib himself regularly lampoons his party people. For instance, he called paid Umno bloggers “bangang” (stupid). He admitted that there are apple polishers and “jemuan” (undesirable people) in the party. He even labelled people whom he considered as ungrateful to the government “haram jadah” (bastards). So what’s so terribly offensive if Jho Low followed suit by labelling his critics as in Umno as spin masters?

Jho Low calling Umno people who accused him of manipulating 1MDB as spinmasters is actually very mild. It is a lot more respectable than being called “bangang”.

Fourthly, since Mohd Najib had openly cleared him of wrongdoing (or rather involvement with 1MDB) he has a strong reason accuse Umno of gunning after him.

In a written reply to a query by Wangsa Maju PKR member of Parliament, Dr Tan Kee Kwong, last month Mohd Najib told Dewan Rakyat that “Mr Low Taek Jho has never worked with 1MDB and all decisions and dealings of 1MDB were was done by the management and board of directors.”

How dare those Umno gals and guys, including Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin, not believe what their boss had said in Parliament about Mr Low?
Are they saying they don’t believe the Prime Minister? Worse still are they siding with (Tun) Dr Mahathir who wants Jho Low’s role in 1MDB probed?

Or are Umno leaders in such a state of confusion that they don’t know what to do anymore? They had gathered to support their boss. They had sung and danced in praise of him. They pledged their undying love and affection. They carried him so high that he he appeared "gayat" because from that lofty height he could see eternity.

Being "julang" so high that the PM could see eternity

 But why still ask for Jho Low to be investigated when Mohd Najib had cleared him, not in the lowly roadside stall, but in the august house of Parliament?

By blaming the Umno spinmasters Jho Low had portrayed some elements in Umno as not respecting Mohd Najib. This amounts to pitting the Umno President against members of his own party.

Then again, Jho Low could be chest deep in the 1MDB muck. He may not have worked with 1MDB and that all 1MDB decisions and dealings were done by the management and board of directors, but there was nothing to stop him from acting as a fee-earning agent or facilitator. 

Abdul Razak Baginda brokered for Defence Ministry

Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda too did not work for the Defence Ministry and, I am sure that all decisions and dealings at the ministry were done by Defence Minister and his generals, but that did not stop Abdul Razak from acting as a fee-earning agent for the purchase of the Scorpéne-classsubmarines. He reputedly earned some US$200 million in commission for brokering the US$2-billion deal.

So we still have to be aware and seek the truth about what Jho Low had said about himself in the Euromoney interview and his role in 1MDB.

He accused the Umno’s spinmasters of playing the Bumiputera card by portraying him as "Chinaman (who) stole the money and blew it on alcohol."

Wallahuaklam.