KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Wanted fugitive Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, today accused renowned US-based newspaper the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of continuing Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “trial by media” against him.
In a press statement through his spokesman co-CEO of Wells Haslem Mayhew Strategic Public Affairs Benjamin Haslem, Low claimed the article published today by WSJ did not paint the full picture, but did not disclose any further details to defend the wanted man’s statement.
“The article is a selection of half-truths, mixed in with fiction, to create a misleading and oversimplified narrative that has been peddled by a morally-bankrupt Mahathir regime to advance its failing political cause.
“Extraordinary and serious claims require extraordinary evidence and the Mahathir regime has failed to provide any legitimate evidence to support these politically-motivated accusations,” Haslem said.
WSJ had published an article claiming that China had agreed to bail the corrupted 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund in return for lucrative infrastructure deals such as the East Coast Rail Link and the Trans Sabah Gas Pipeline under its One Belt One Road Initiative.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said that Putrajaya will now closely study the deal to find out if there were any discrepancies in the deal.
Low has been accused of being deeply involved in the 1MDB kleptocracy saga, which took place during former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak tenure under the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) regime.
He is wanted by several governments including Malaysia and the US Justice Department for the role he has played in history’s worst financial scandal, which has cost the nation tens of billions of Ringgit.
In the statement, Low also accused the US-based newspaper of “passing off baseless political accusations as reporting”.
“It is the journalistic responsibility of the Wall Street Journal to have approached such claims with scepticism and suspicion and it is unfortunate that these baseless political accusations are passed off as legitimate reporting,” Haslem said.
