KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): Lawyer for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said he has a suspicion fugitive Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low, is currently residing in Myanmar under the protection of the military junta there.
Shafee made the claim during a forum titled "Media Townhall: Getting the Facts Right-The Untold Stories of 1MDB & Other Cases" held on Tuesday.
During this discussion Shafee was asked by a member of the audience about Jho Low’s whereabouts and why the government is unable to nab him.
Shafee said that he had come to this conclusion based on his cross-examination of 1MDB former general counsel Jasmine Loo Ai Swan during the 1MDB-Tanore trial. Loo was once considered one of Jho Low's proxies.
“From her testimony, which I grilled Jasmine Loo (in court), I think he is in Myanmar protected by the generals of the military,” he said.
"This is because Low was able to get the passport to Loo and was able to get her to enter Myanmar without the Malaysian passport.
"Loo was travelling on a Myanmar passport, and she confirmed it was Low (who) arranged for this passport.
“You know Myanmar is a cowboy republic, you can do anything there,” Shafee said.
Loo had testified in court that she entered Myanmar in 2019 and remained there until 2023. Upon her arrival, she was escorted by the country’s military. She recounted that she was in Yangon while she was negotiating a deal with Malaysia.
The former lawyer also denied that she was held under house arrest and insisted that she was free to move around the capital during her stay there.
She testified that she tried to enter Myanmar with her Malaysian passport, but it was not stamped upon her arrival and soon after, she was given another travel document arranged by Jho Low to reflect that she was a Myanmar local and had entered the country legally.
“I was going to enter Myanmar legally, but it (my passport) was not stamped, then I was ‘taken’ by the Myanmar military. It was a situation foisted on me,” she testified.
Also on the panel, which was moderated by Kamarudin Ahmad, were former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun and a lawyer affiliated with Umno, Adzly Abdul Manas.