In a written parliamentary reply, Hamzah said the police believed that, for the time being, the Red Notice issued by Interpol was better as it involved cooperation with foreign authorities and intelligence that was “more accurate”.
“This method requires any of the 195 member countries with information on Jho Low to channel the information to Malaysia so that an extradition can be conducted,” he said in reply to Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong).
Lim had asked why Putrajaya did not offer any reward for information on Jho Low and his accomplices’ whereabouts since they were still wanted by Malaysian authorities.
The DAP MP also asked Hamzah if the police had contacted journalists Tom Wright and Bradley Hope after they claimed Jho Low and his family were spotted in China and Hong Kong in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Hamzah said police studied the authenticity of every information received on Jho Low’s whereabouts and also checked with the authorities abroad.
The minister said this was done through existing international channels and based on the “good relationship and cooperation” with the authorities in the relevant country.
In August, Hope, the co-author of a book on the 1MDB scandal, announced that he had initiated a search on social media for Jho Low.
Jho Low, who has been charged in Malaysia and the US over allegations that he orchestrated the theft of US$4.5 billion from the state fund, is believed to be in Macau, although Beijing has denied protecting the fugitive financier.
Hope’s book, titled “The Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood and the World”, which he co-wrote with Wright, chronicles the 1MDB corruption scandal, which also paints Jho Low as the alleged mastermind.
In a separate reply to RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong), Hamzah said those with information on Jho Low’s location could channel it to Bukit Aman’s commercial crime investigation department (CCID) via Whatsapp at 013-2111222.
The authenticity of every piece of information received would be verified and channelled to Interpol for further confirmation from the member country involved, he said.