Impact of the failure to bring elusive Jho Low and Nik Faisal home

Malaysia’s failure to bring elusive Jho Low and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil home is an admission that it does not know where the fugitives are hiding.

Or it means the local authorities are not doing the right thing? And perhaps they do not know how to get them back to face the 1MDB trial?

The Edge Weekly today says the police told the court they could not bring the two back home.

At the Kuala Lumpur High Court today investigators say they had a lead on the location of fugitive businessperson Low Taek Jho.

However, his arrest never materialised.

The authorities said earlier they know the location of the alleged 1MDB mastermind Jho Low. But they were not sure where Nik Faisal, the CEO of SRC International Sdn Bhd.

In May, Malaysia’s top cop did say he knows Jho Low’s location and he guarantees his safety if he returns.

Hiding place

Abdul Hamid Bador also said the fugitive Low Taek Jho will go through the legal process if he returns and it was safe for him to come back.

In a press conference on May 24, Abdul Hamid said: “We know where Jho Low and his friends are hiding and police are making use of all available resources, including working with the authorities overseas to track down Jho Low”.

Jho Low left the country through Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport on May 29, 2015.

But Nik Faisal left the country through KLIA on May 7 last year, two days before the 14th General Election, 

Impact

What is the impact of the failure to bring these two hotheads back?

First of all, the 1MDB and the SRC International trials will be incomplete. Without their presence, the court will be able to deliver a verdict. This is for sure.

But for the Pakatan Haparan government, it will be a question of missed opportunities to bury the ex-PM deeply.

Jho Low and Nik Faisal caught and back home will mean a great victory for the government of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Without this great victory, there will be a sour taste even if the court finds Najib guilty in both trials.

At the same time, this is because the two main actors would have absconded without being judged.

A judgement against them may come in absentia. Nevertheless, it is not the same if they were here to admit their guilt.

On the other hand, they could at least defend themselves from the charges laid against them.

However, after the trial and if they are not caught, they will remain fugitive for life.