KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — The Home Ministry has called on the public, Malaysians or otherwise to simply drop a WhatsApp message should they know the whereabouts of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, known as Jho Low.
However, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said in a parliamentary reply that the ministry was of the opinion that it was unnecessary to offer a reward for information leading to Jho Low’s arrest.
In response to a question by RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong), Hamzah said since 2018, Jho Low’s name was still on Interpol’s Red Notice to 195 countries, where member nations would share information on the whereabouts of the fugitive.
At the same time, he said the police has also established cooperation with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Singaporean authorities and other enforcement agencies from various countries.
“The police also welcome anyone with information regarding Jho Low’s location to pass it through the CCID Infoline at 013-211 1222 (WhatsApp only) or to any nearby police station.
“All information received will be checked for validity and channeled to Interpol to obtain further confirmation from the member countries involved,” he said.
To a question by Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) who asked if Putrajaya would offer a reward for information leading to Jho Low’s capture, Hamzah replied in the negative.
“In relation to the issue of offering rewards to those who have the latest information on Jho Low and his associates, the police is of the view that for now, the method through the Red Notice issued by Interpol is better because it involves elements of cooperation and more accurate intelligence information.
“This method requires any of the 195 member countries that have information related to Jho Low to be responsible for channeling it to Malaysia to enable extradition action to be made.”
To another question by Lim who asked if the police had contacted journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope who claimed that Jho Low was sighted in China, Hamzah said the police “always check the validity of all information received”.
“A information received about Jho Low’s whereabouts in a foreign country is always scrutinised for validity by the police, including using the cooperation channels of the authorities in the country in question, based on existing international channels, good relations and cooperation with the authorities of foreign countries.”
