I will not surrender, says Jho Low

The wanted businessman says there is a trial by media which makes it impossible for him to get a fair hearing.

(FMT) – A defiant Low Taek Jho, on the run from authorities in Malaysia and several other countries over his role in the 1MDB affair, today said he would not surrender himself, saying he would not get a fair trial amid what he called a “trial by media”.

“I will not submit to any jurisdiction where guilt has been predetermined by politics and self-interest overrules legal process,” Low said in a statement to FMT issued by a Sydney-based public relations firm.

It is the businessman’s latest attack on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in the wake of the handover of the Equanimity yacht, which US authorities said was bought by Low using money stolen from 1MDB.

Low also slammed The Wall Street Journal, accusing the paper of breaching journalistic ethics over a report today suggesting that he was being made a bargaining chip by China ahead of Mahathir’s visit to Beijing.

He said the writers behind the report were giving a pro-Mahathir narrative as a prelude to an upcoming book.

“Today’s WSJ article was obviously planted there by the Mahathir regime, working with these reporters towards a common goal: WSJ reporters have a book coming out next month that they are trying to sell, while Dr. Mahathir is intent on advancing his own corrupt political agenda by assigning guilt without any form of legal process,” said the statement.

The WSJ article, which quoted unnamed sources from Singapore and Malaysia as saying that China could be harbouring Low, was authored by among others Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, who were involved in the expose on 1MDB which WSJ published in 2015.

Low is believed to be referring to a new book by the duo, “Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World”, which zeroes in on Low’s role in the 1MDB affair.

Low today again said he was a victim of a “trial-by-media”, with reports based on “leaks from prosecutors and government officials who have little interest in the truth”.

“Before any evidence has been presented in any court, including in the United States, these reporters have passed judgment, supporting a Mahathir regime that has proven its utter disregard for anything resembling a fair legal process,” the statement added.