Following the relentless attacks against Prime Minister Najib Razak by his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad, there may be more drama headed to our shores, courtesy of Jho Low.
The high-flying, hard partying Malaysian billionaire has said in an interview to monthly business magazine Euromoney that he's now ready to defend himself, and point the finger of blame at others.
It is in the same interview that Low had said "Those Umno guys are spin masters."
Wow, a drama to look forward to indeed.
Back to the interview, Low has denied all involvement with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). The journalist from the magazine had met with Low in his high-rise, luxury office building in Hong Kong, where the tycoon is based.
Low tells the interviewer that this is the most difficult time of his 33 years of life coming under attack from various parties.
"I'm just constantly being gunned down. I'm very frustrated, but I haven't said anything.
"I feel it's just gotten to a point where it's just ridiculous. There are all these guys with their arrows out on me. There seems to be a very, very coordinated attempt to say: ‘This young Chinaman, it' all his fault, he caused the failure of 1MDB and apparently he advised the PM and everything is screwed up now’," he was quoted as saying.
Low opined that he was being demonised because he was young, made a lot of money and quickly, and the most provocative of all – an ethnic Chinese Malaysian dabbling in the preserve of the politically connected Malay business elite.
Low said the time has come to direct the 1MDB turmoil away from him to where he claims, it really matters: the competence of those in charge of the fund.
"It's so frustrating. I've never faced this kind of attack from all directions. It's just crazy and these Umno guys are spin masters, they know all this sort of nonsense.
"All these guys go round and round and round and I say: ‘Guys, it's very simple, there's a board, who's the shareholder? Have you seen one statement from anyone that talks about the simple governance of a company?’
"Are you telling me the Prime Minister doesn't make his own decisions? That the ministry, the minister of finance (Najib as well), and there are only two to three people in the ministry that sign off on shareholder resolutions under law – that none of them – that they just signed without evaluating it?" asked Low.
Phew, feel the heat yet? Wait, there's more.
Low then trained his crosshairs on people who were supposed to be responsible for decision making (at 1MDB), but "suddenly decided to absolve all their responsibilities and then create a PR campaign with me as the focus?"
"No one seems to ask the question the ultimate decision-maker on 1MDB is. No one asks that. No one ever asks about the shareholder’s role.”
"There are so many other people who get away with ridiculous billions and billions and billions worth of projects. But every single time there seems to be a political attack, wow, suddenly Jho is there again,” he said.
Low seems to have had enough of his six years of silence, which had "created a crazy perception."
"I’ve done nothing wrong (but) no one in Malaysia is interested in our point of view. Then we try to get out of this perception and they launch a gazillion rounds of attacks in a very systematic manner."
"My mistake: Young kid, made a lot of money, never thought about the timelines of these events... and then partying, blah blah blah blah… and that’s the part that gets all the attention," he said, referring to his hard partying lifestyle with Hollywood celebrities.
He lambasted those who concluded that the money he was blowing on all the partying must have been made from TIA/1MDB.
"And because there are all these pictures of me and Paris Hilton drinking and all that, then you play to the bumiputera (ethnic Malay) card: ‘Oh, the Chinaman stole all the money and blew it all on alcohol’.
"And then I’m just like, I must be the dumbest person ever, if I really made money off the government and then to blow it like there is no tomorrow, it’s like about the dumbest thing you can do," said Low, adding that he graduated from Wharton, and is not "that stupid”.
"I just didn't understand politics at that time."
According to Low, he doesn't fear being arrested or being prosecuted upon his return to Malaysia.
“The biggest concern is people fabricating documents. I have no proof, there’s so much innuendo."
He said he never got involved with 1MDB.
“I want to define it very clearly, I never get involved with 1MDB. 1MDB never asked me to advise them or pay me a fee or do anything, and I have been very clear on that. If someone at 1MDB wants to call me and say: ‘You know, Jho, what’s your view on the Middle East?’ I’ll give them my view on the Middle East.
"If a prospective investor asks for my advice about 1MDB, I’ll provide it. [They ask me:] ‘I want to buy a piece of land in TRX (the Tun Razak Exchange, an undeveloped KL property named after Najib’s late father and owned by 1MDB), what do you think about TRX, can you give me your views, can you connect me with them, can I talk to them?...’”
Low also denied buying 1MDB bonds.
“I don’t run 1MDB. I don’t control 1MDB. I don’t decide anything on 1MDB, but if any Middle East entity that I know wants to ask me for my view, I’ll give them my view. And, if they want to get involved with 1MDB, that’s their prerogative.”
Low also explained why he chooses not to do business in his home country.
“I choose not to just because anything and everything is going to be spun and become politicised. There is a perception that I share close links to the prime minister, but I’m not sure what has happened in recent times to indicate that.”
“There is a perception that I have a good relationship with the PM’s wife because of the stepson (Riza Aziz). I mean, I know the stepson well, but I’m not sure I would agree that I am the wife’s best friend. Of course the opposition is attacking the government and they think by attacking Jho Low that the prime minister will get affected because of my 16-year relationship with his stepson,” he said.
Low's interview and name calling (Umno guys are spin masters) doesn't seem to have sat well with Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.
This morning he tweeted a snap of the Edge Financial daily’s front page blurb of the interview (which is expected to be out in its upcoming issue) featuring the quote and Low's mugshot, and said, "The Youths have voiced support for Najib Razak. Please expedite probe into 1MDB. Also fully probe this guy (Low). "
This damning interview by Low may or may not mean anything much, but it tells us one thing: That he is tired of being made the scapegoat in everything related to 1MDB and he is ready to distance himself from his close ally Najib, to protect his own back.
It also means that the pressure is piling on Najib, from all directions. Will he be able to weather this rough turbulence?
Let's just wait and watch the drama unfold.