'I am not Jho Low 2.0': Why PM and Azam are after me
On March 7, 2015, I organised a protest called “Rise with Justice”. As a third-year law student in the UK, I would never have imagined that Malaysia would dare to use the entire state apparatus to unjustly convict Anwar Ibrahim for a second time.
Many Malaysian students in the UK did not dare to turn up for the protest, but I pushed forward with it as a student leader of Malaysia Progressives United Kingdom because I want the world to know about the deep injustices of the state.
Reformasi leaders always talk about their political awakening in 1998; mine was in 2015.
When Anwar defied all odds and became prime minister in November 2022, I wrote an article titled “Anwar made me believe in something”, about how that moment meant so much to supporters like me.
I thought about the many followers who braved through rain and storm, police brutality and tear gases, job losses and ostracisation - for that one simple idealism of seeing injustices corrected. To see Anwar free from prison, to see Anwar become the leader of the nation.
But today, Anwar and MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki are coming for me.
The basis of this investigation is that there was supposedly misappropriation by my ex-boss, former economy minister Rafizi Ramli, and that the deal that I was involved in was rushed through inappropriately.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki
MACC issued a public search for me, as though I am a fugitive, and Azam even held a press conference about this. He gave the impression that I was hiding like a fugitive. I am not.
What happened
These are the facts and timeline of what happened during my tenure at the Economy Ministry:
On Feb 15, 2023, I was appointed as the special functions (policy) officer to the economy minister, who was Rafizi Ramli.
Between April 22 and 23, 2024, the government held a two-day tech conference, called KL20, that featured well-known international and local speakers from tech and startup.
This was one of the most high-profile tech events that Malaysia has ever held: Almost RM1 billion of global funds were launched, 20 venture capital and founders decided to set up offices in Malaysia, about 10 policies and initiatives were introduced, and the largest semiconductor park in Southeast Asia was announced.
My colleagues and I at the Economy Ministry led this conference. Arm Holdings was invited as a guest speaker in a semiconductor session.
On the first day of KL20, April 22, 2024, Arm Holdings’ team was urgently invited to see the prime minister at his office. I was not in that meeting but from the photos I found on Instagram - several ministers like Gobind Singh Deo, Zambry Abdul Kadir, Fahmi Fadzil, ex-minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, and other high-ranking government officials were present in that meeting.
To my knowledge, the main request by the government was for Arm Holdings to assist Malaysia’s semiconductor ambitions. Given the enthusiasm they felt from KL20 - and the urgency by the prime minister - the Arm Holdings’ team gave the government a rough plan of how this could look.
ADS
After the April 22, 2024, meeting, I was tasked by the economy minister to explore this collaboration opportunity with the company because I was in charge of KL20 and most tech-related initiatives of the ministry, among others.
Between May 2024 and March 5, 2025, I probably created about 20 Google Slides, 10 Google documents, and talked to over 100 stakeholders in the government and industry to shape the idea of the collaboration. Feedback from other ministries - including the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry and Finance Ministry were reflected in the final agreement.
The proposed collaboration was presented to the cabinet three times. I was not in the cabinet as I am not a minister.
On Feb 28, 2025, Anwar announced to the media that the agreement between the government and Arm Holdings will be signed in a week’s time.
I was informed that the prime minister also had a video call meeting with the highest executives of the company, including its CEO and chairperson, that morning. I was not involved in the meeting as I was just a special officer.
On March 5, 2025, the government, represented by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) CEO, signed a deal with Arm Holdings at a public event. The attendees were the prime minister, economy minister, investment, trade and industry minister; Mida CEO, and the CEO of Arm Holdings Rene Haas, among others.
On June 17, 2025, my colleagues and I at the economy minister’s office resigned collectively with the minister.
After my resignation, Arm Holdings requested my assistance for a short-term transition period. I was reluctant because I was thoroughly exhausted working in government (the government also made Arm Holdings promise to do a lot of things) and I wanted a break.
But the company had no presence in Southeast Asia. They don’t know who to talk to in the government and industry, how the government works, what Southeast Asia is like, nor the culture nor the people.
The resignation was abrupt and unexpected, so it caught everyone off guard, including me. I also felt responsible for the project that I was involved in; Arm Holdings must fulfil its obligations so that no public funds are wasted.
So, I did two months of work for the company to help with the transition, such as setting up the office, creating Google Slides (I guess I’m the slides guy), meeting with potential integrated circuit (IC) design companies, putting the team and structure in place, organising training for engineers, and raising public awareness, etc.
After exactly two months, I resigned from the short-term role to move on with my life.
So, to suggest that I was involved in misappropriation or abuse of power or anything of that nature, I must be proven to have (a) acted in bad faith by being involved in the project proposal for the period between May 2024 to March 2025; (b) influenced the prime minister, cabinet, and the entire government machinery; and (c) misappropriated or personally benefited from something I had influence over. I had none.
I did not influence Anwar, the cabinet, and the entire government machinery to sign with Arm Holdings so I could get a job. I didn’t even know Rafizi was going to resign at that time. Anwar doesn’t even know who I am, let alone be influenced by me.
Why go after someone like me
To know what this campaign is getting at, we need to look at it holistically. The primary narrative that the government wants to play up is that Rafizi misappropriated RM1.1 billion from the collaboration, and I, was the “Jho Low 2.0” (Low Taek Jho) who helped Rafizi with this. There are a few things behind this narrative-construct.
First, instead of reaching out to me or those close to me to call me in for an investigation, MACC has resorted to issuing a public search notice and a press conference by the MACC chief to “search” for me.
They even put up my childhood home which my parents currently stay in, exposing my family to unnecessary danger, which is something I will never forgive the authorities for.
The government has ample resources at its disposal but it couldn’t even find my phone number. They could have asked my friends or my former colleagues in the government.
They could have also emailed or messaged me on social media or searched me on LinkedIn to know what I’m up to now.
I’m currently working in the UK on artificial intelligence (AI) risks and policies to regulate because this is the biggest threat of our lifetime. (I also have to work because I don’t actually have RM1.1 billion in my bank account).
But resorting to this elaborate public search method is meant to paint me as a fugitive with something to hide, as if I am guilty and running from the authorities.
This is excessive and potentially defamatory - I presume this is meant to be so. I can say with absolute certainty that I am not in Macau.
Cybertrooper campaignand racist attacks
Second, there has been a long-running underground cybertrooper campaign, mostly led by anonymous accounts, that tries to paint the narrative I mentioned above.
They even explicitly called me “Jho Low 2.0”. We were just waiting for a well-resourced person to repeat these claims so that we could sue for defamation. We couldn’t sue cybertroopers because if you live for RM20 per post, I doubt you will have enough resources to pay damages in court.
Some cybertroopers also suggested that I was appointed to the board of directors of Arm Holdings as a reward. I wish life were that easy.
Of course, there is a subtle racial angle to this. The idea is to find someone of a certain race to tarnish so that the public would believe it was “another Chinese who took money from the government” and not have sympathy for me. It’s the classic “type-C is corrupt’ narrative.
Third, painting me this way is easier than actually proving the case. I never once doubted the MACC’s ability to go deep into a person’s life.
Since the day we were appointed to Rafizi’s office, we knew that we were vulnerable to being attacked, investigated, and searched. I daresay that the MACC and other government machinery have probably looked into the accounts, assets, and personal lives of Rafizi and his former officers, including me. They likely found nothing.
Rafizi Ramli
When they looked into mine, they probably only found a modest amount of cash with credit card debt of a millennial, a mortgage for a home I half-own, and a 2020 Proton Persona that has a market value of only RM12,000. Money really isn’t my primary source of motivation in life.
If it were, I wouldn’t have joined the government. I had to reject a job offer from Singapore that pays me five times my last drawn salary, and took a 50 percent pay cut to join the government with no prospect of promotion or increment.
I wasn’t even paid until my sixth month in office because of the tremendous bureaucracy. However, I put up with this often-foolish belief that I should play my part in serving the country.
How I’m feeling now
When Rafizi first called me to offer me to join him, I took two weeks to ruminate over it. Most friends and family strongly discouraged me from doing it because it would stifle my career, waste my time (because they think Malaysia has no hope), and would leave me politically exposed.
But I had to give it a shot because I am still the same person who wrote a book about Malaysia's underdogs, called “Sang Kancil: An Ordinary Tale about How Malaysians Defied the Odds”.
I’m still the same person who wrote the article titled “Choosing to return to Malaysia, with hope” in 2017. I’m still the same person who organised the protest for Anwar.
As for how I’m feeling: Little annoyance, some sadness, and a lot of anger. Annoyed that I had to go through this unnecessary process, sad that the large state has been weaponised to go after someone small like me, and angry that they are coming after what I represent.
I am not a politician, a tycoon, or an influencer (I only have 1,200+ followers on Instagram and 131 subscribers on Substack).
Make no mistake, this is not about coming after me specifically. It is about coming after people like me. People who fell on the wrong side of the government.
You could be the most well-meaning, well-intentioned, sacrificial person who wants to serve the government, and have done nothing wrong, haven’t misappropriated a single sen - but God forbid you fall on the wrong side.
When the government is desperate and insecure, no one is safe from its radar. Today it is me, tomorrow it might be someone else.
When people tell me that Southeast Asia is lawless, arbitrary, and chaotic, I’ve always defended Malaysia. Now, I cannot in good conscience say the same anymore.
In a confusing time like this, I’m grateful that my friends and family have offered me all kinds of support: Lawyers (thank God I studied law and know some of the best lawyers), NGO support, getting the word out, reassurances, and words of prayer.
My only crime is that I held on to an idealism even into my early 30s when most people would have abandoned it by then.
But I know that the fight against injustice must continue, however inconvenient and tiring.
I know I could have taken a different path, but I will never regret serving my nation because serving Malaysia remains the greatest honour of my life. No oppression will change that. - Mkini
JAMES CHAI is a former aide to Rafizi Ramli.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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