In “The Siege Within”, author Leslie Lopez said Low Taek Jho – better known as Jho Low – had attempted to take over the automotive giant following the passing of its founder, Yahaya Ahmad, in 1997.
Prior to his death, Yahaya had sought to ensure that the controlling interest in the corporation would vest in a family trust if he were to pass away.
By March 2004, however, the family trust had defaulted on loans it owed to several banks, Lopez wrote. However, these financial institutions were not at liberty to simply dispose of the stake to the highest bidder.
“Enter Team Low. In the course of the corporate battle for the conglomerate, he displayed his clout by getting potential investors from Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia to visit the company, so as to show that the Wynton Capital bid had solid international backing,” Lopez wrote.
Wynton Capital is Low’s private corporate vehicle, whose shareholders would later include people said to have links to former prime ministers.
The bid by Low caught the attention of then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s team of advisers, Lopez said, as they sought to forge closer ties with Najib Razak, then the deputy prime minister.
Lopez claimed Low’s team was encouraged by Abdullah’s advisers to rope in a businessman who was a prominent player in the automotive business.
Things were looking promising for Low until Dec 3, 2004, when an aide to Abdullah alerted the media of the government’s decision to award the contested stake in DRB-Hicom to Low’s team, which was fronted by the businessman.
However, after prayers that Friday afternoon, Abdullah suddenly changed his mind and announced that tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary would be awarded the prized 15.8% stake in DRB-Hicom Berhad.
Low, who had been working behind the scenes, did not take the setback well, Lopez said.
The hiccup would serve as an important lesson for Low as he plotted his homecoming, Lopez wrote. “In a country where political connections count, Low’s wasta (clout) has proved to be wanting.”
More recently, Low has been painted as the mastermind behind the notorious 1MDB scam, billed by the US Department of Justice as the “largest kleptocracy case to date”.
The saga has seen Najib convicted and jailed, while Low remains at large, and in hiding.
“The Siege Within” is currently on sale and can be purchased online at Kinokuniya, Lit Books and Amazon Singapore.