Jho Low plays race card after associate is extradited to the US

Businessperson Low Taek Jho has resorted to the race card after his associate Roger Ng was extradited to the US to stand trial over the 1MDB scandal.

Low, who is also wanted by both Malaysia and the US in connection with the 1MDB scandal, said it was troubling that the US was working with a country led by an "anti-Semite".

“It’s troubling that the Malaysian regime is attempting to tout its cooperation and relationship with the US when it shares no common ground on basic human and legal rights and when it is led by a self-proclaimed anti-Semite," Low said through a spokesperson.

He appeared to be referring to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose vocal criticism of Israel's occupation of Palestine had led to him being labelled as an "anti-Semite".

However, Mahathir has denied that Malaysia is anti-Jew or anti-Semitic.

"Malaysia is not anti-Jew or anti-Semitic. The Arabs are also Semitic people. But we reserve the right to condemn inhuman and oppressive behaviour anywhere, by anyone," he had said.

Ng (photo), who was extradited to the US on May 3, pleaded not guilty to criminal charges linked to 1MDB at a federal court in New York yesterday.

A former banker with Goldman Sachs, Ng is accused by US prosecutors of conspiring to launder money and bribe government officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi through bond offerings arranged by Goldman Sachs for 1MDB in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Low's spokesperson claimed that with the extradition, Ng had been "saved" from inhumane treatment in Malaysia.

"While Malaysia agreed to the transfer when Ng first waived extradition in February, the regime’s leaders then back-tracked and invented the concept of a ‘fast track trial’.

"Unsurprisingly, this failed when the politically-motivated government focused all its efforts on persecuting its predecessors with show trials and abusive use of arrest warrants.

"It is good that Ng has been rescued from Malaysia’s inhumane prison conditions and a process controlled by a leader with a history of abusing the judicial system to destroy political opponents," Low's spokesperson said.

Ng will also stand trial in Malaysia. Putrajaya decided to temporarily surrender Ng to the US for 10 months to settle the charges against him in that country first.

In Malaysia, Ng is accused by prosecutors of abetting Goldman Sachs in the sale of bonds belonging to 1MDB by omitting material information and publishing untrue statements in violation of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 - Mkini