Tag Archives: Malaysia

The Ongoing Jho Low Saga

For my little but lovely group of friends who read my usual insignificant

ramblings here (and I thank you for it) perdóneme, this is one of those more er ..

‘heavier’ ones which has a little connection with my job as a journo.

This is one for those who keep coming back for that Malaysian millionaire

who apparently, can’t keep out of the spotlight.

.

It is the month of July.

Am sure you have read all the latest, necessary reading about Taek Jho Low,

also known as Joe Low, who has been keeping in very rich & blonde company.

Am sure you have seen this all out and about from

- http://www.fadedyouthblog.com/197536/paris-hilton-strikes-a-pose-for-malaysian-millionaire

- http://rockybru.com.my/2010/07/paris-hiltons-majestic-masterpiece.html

and so on.

Newcomers to the Jho Low saga would only now be discovering things that have

been somewhat public knowledge here &  in grand city of New York last year.

November, to be exact.

I wrote about him last year, and if you still are a bit lost as to how it all

started, perhaps you could begin with that.

.

As you would probably be reading other recent updates in the blogosphere like:

Who Is This Young Millionaire, Taek Jho Low?

Our ‘favourite’ millionaire cavorts with Paris and

Low Taek Jho, Paris Hilton, Rosmah & RM 11 billion ,

I will not repeat what it being said in these blogs, twitterverse etc.

I’m going to assume you know lah what has been said, reported on thenutgraph,

and that I have kind of spent many hours lah researching all this.

.

.

And going through all of it these past few months, I think I could say this:

  • It would be very easy to assume Jho Low is using public money to party with Paris Hilton. It is not easy in the slightest to prove that this is true.
  • It would be very easy to assume that Paris Hilton is only hanging out with him for the money. It is not easy to imagine that, like his Middle Eastern friends, she could just genuinely like hanging out with him? You know, cause er .. he is rich? He could be … hilarious, or … er nice, for all we know?
  • It would be very easy to say Jho Low is ‘fat’, or ‘tubby’, and this and that. It is not easy to find actual, solid, reasons to validate why we are criticising him, to justify why we are actually calling him such names. Besides, you got no bigger-size friends meh yang kau adore? Suddenly the argument is about fat people is it? Do people realise that when you resort to ad hominem attacks (Your mother bodoh, your muka hodoh), you effectively sully & blotch painfully researched info?
  • It would be very easy to say because Jho Low knows/interacts/is close to Rosmah, it automatically makes him … suspicious or dodgy. It is not easy for us to explain how that we can even ascertain/explain that reasonably. In public. On the record. If he is friends with her son, is that … bad, or illegal, or dodgy, in any way?

.

.

And oklah while I’m at it … I guess I’ll also put it in there that it is also very easy

to present somebody’s trails and links as your own as if you came up with it, and

not so easy to spend hours & hours destroying your eyes in front of the computer,

making those connections. Tidak apa, you know, I know lah Misters. Minus

respect points lor.

.

Anyway, I am not writing a In Defence of Jho Low piece.

I guess this is more about journalism versus gossip/rumour.

.

.

BUT …

Despite all the things I have pointed out above,

we can say these things for sure:

1- We already know he definitely is well connected to the upper echelons.

2- We know, from all sources, everywhere, that he really. likes. hanging.

out. with. stars. And drinking champagne. And living the high life.

3- We also know for a certainty that he has real influence and power. He makes

money from that.

.

A friend and I were laughing one day when we saw this

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1221007/+40 ,

where someone spoke quite emotionally in defence of JL.

More specifically, we laughed out loud when we read “i sense Joe Low in ACTION! icon_rolleyes.gif“

implying of course, that the man was defending himself anonymously.

The thing is that:

For months and months and months, the activities of Low have been a hot topic

among so many circles, whether business folks, diplomats or politicians.

This is fact.

Because Klang Valley is very small and incestuous (and Klang Valley-ites know

this), there is only one or two degrees of separation between many of us and

the famous Mr Low.

I can also say this as a matter of fact because I am in the same generation as him,

and there are many people out there who personally know/knew him, or his friends.

Even people from London tell me things about him, so it is not just here that he is

being talked about.

There is one thing that is constant. The tone is always … one that is unimpressed.

Most of it … basically kind of sneering.

.

Bear with me here. What I am saying is that people don’t necessarily hate or

resent rich people.

I am quite sure when people think of Tony Fernandes or the YTL family [correction:

Sorry, I was thinking of the Low Yat Family - sleepy mistake] etc they

don’t immediately sneer at their wealth. There is always a certain amount of respect

because we can distinguish people who built things up thru very hard work &

took many, many years to do so.

Perhaps the reasons why JL is written & talked about in such .. dare I say it ..

disgusted tones is because:

1. He is very young to be so rich & powerful.

2. He has done so primarily through the who-you-know route.

3. He splashes money even more outrageously than superstars.

Bukan Klang Valley superstars okay, Hollywood superstars.

4. And that he seems to want you to know it.

Let’s face it – this is not exactly shunning exposure a la Ananda Krishnan.

.

However. Until someone proves any of this is actually wrong, actually dodgy,

or actually illegal, who is to say he has no right to do so? Yes, in this world nowadays,

many people make business deals and they make commissions from it.

They link people & profit.

.

.

I shall end with this however. You know all the rather sneering tones and all

the activities and deals that people talk about when it comes to Jho Low?

People around him must be talking, giving the information.

People close to him, his entourage, perhaps those who partied with him in NY,

or who followed him to South Africa or France?

Which makes me wonder … and this is pure conjecture on my part …

but how do his friends / buddies /acquaintances / the entourage behave in

front of him, and what do they say … behind him?

.

Trees versus drinks

Sometimes I compare lifestyles. And different countries.

Not too long ago my girls and I were having this debate about the lifestyle

in Australia versus London/New York. The girls who were living in OZ

were insisting that Down Under is very, very different in terms of lifestyle because

people take work/play balance very seriously and you would find much cooler,

laid back, happier employees there.

Basically, once it is the end of the work day, that’s it. Bye!

Don’t you dare mess with my leave! Unheard of!

It’s my holiday – and that’s that, bye!

Having never lived in Oz, but with a bit of experience staying in London and

the US, I’d say London would come second, and then America next. (In terms

of the countries I have known lah).

Oh sorry, I think little countries like Gibraltar and those in the Meditteranean

areas are wayyyyyy more laid back. In Gib, where everybody knows your name,

the days are like this – Work. Home. Beach or Work. Beach. Home. Or during

the weekends. Beach Home Beach Home.

You get the idea. They’d top the list I think. That’s why so many of my Gib

friends are still surfers, artists, even cab drivers. They are not obsessed about

money – they just want to make enough and then hang at the beach.

.

Anyway, I don’t know even why I started this post now. Haha.

Oh. Okay. It’s just that he keeps sending me all these pictures from London,

everyday.

The commons

Our tree - the weeping willow. But it's a happy willow!

My bridge in the distance. All mine

And I feel a bit lame, because this is what I send him …

The Converse/David Corio do at ZincArt

Okay, so I exaggerate. I do send him other pictures too, of my darling friends

and I. And the last shot was not for him really, I was just showing that

beautiful iPhone app to someone, as usual.

But you get what I mean.

Feels so… lame. Drinking, party, oh boy wooo hooo, shoot me now.

Maybe I just need to get back to nature.

Stat!

xo

If I Knew You & You Knew Me

Another of the many inspirational poems

and assorted writings that inspire me. Here’s a short but sweet one from

the collection of favourites ….

This one is dedicated to the country, in view of the current events and controversies.

If I Knew You & You Knew Me

By Nixon Waterman

.

.

If I knew you and you knew me,

If both of us could clearly see,

And with an inner sight divine,

The meaning of your heart and mine,

I’m sure that we would differ less,

And clasp our hands in friendliness;

Our thoughts would pleasantly agree,

If I knew you and you knew me.

.

.

.

.

I know a lot of people who have been very upset over the whole Allah controversy.

It’s a lot of negativity now going around, feeding off each other.

As a person who has to observe and read everything, sometimes I get very troubled

and distressed myself. But I refuse to add to the negativity.

I wouldn’t be able to take it.

Sometimes things can get overwhelming if you let it get to you.

How has this incident affected others I wonder.

So a little bit of laughs here, a little bit of light there …  a lovely poem or

a heartwarming story or two … they help to make things a whole lot better.

Have a good remaining week folks.

xo

Just Who is Jho Low?

I’m sure you’ve read or heard about this.

Malaysian Jho Low, has made a name for himself

in a grand, vivacious, wonderful city that will never

be quiet. Yes, it will shout out your name should

you deserve it.

It’s New York after all, and the name Jho Low has made

there isn’t at all referred to in flattering terms.

First the New York Post, no less, writes about him.

And then New York Mag picks it up.

In both, you can almost smell the disgust dripping from

the pieces.

As the New York Post writes:

Strangely, for a man attracting so much attention, very little is known about Low.

According to his official biography, he currently serves as a group adviser of several international corporations and was appointed to the board of UBG Berhad, a financial-services group in Kuala Lumpur, last year.

But when The Post interviewed Malaysian experts at such think tank as the Council on Foreign Relations, no one had ever heard of Low.

According to inside sources, Low lives at a $100,000-a-month apartment in the Park Imperial, on West 56th Street, home to James Bond actor Daniel Craig and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs — and he won’t go anywhere, not even on the elevator, without at least one bodyguard.

Some of Low’s entourage of eight to 12 people also reside in two other apartments at the Park Imperial — a $30,000-a-month pad and a 2,200-square-foot loft with Central Park views that costs $20,000 a month, according to real-estate investor Michael Hirtenstein, who used to live in the latter.

(the rest of the article here …)

And then, as is with the Internet’s breakneck speed,

it comes out in Twitter and our own Malay Mail.

The latter somehow flashes and then removes and then

flashes the story again, effectively rewriting it as its own (with

NY dateline and all, hmm)

People are wondering where he gets all that money.

Now, there are a few comments on the relevant sites

that say people are just envious of his good fortune,

and are throwing in jokes with regard to his Cristal

obession, Lohan connection and so on … but, perhaps,

is this more than a joke?

The Post’s ‘expose’ was actually old news for New Yorkers

apparently, judging by these blog posts from the Big Apple below.

- 40 bottles of Cristal

- $160,000 at Avenue

- Bubbly for Lohan’s Birthday

They’ve been trying to figure out WHO this guy was, apparently.

So:

1. If this is all true, this guy is kind of embarrassing us.

Burned through thousands of US dollars. Over Champagne?

In our current economic downturn, and time of bail outs & stimulus

packages?

Far be it for me to deny anyone some partying, but when New Yorkers

are scratching their heads over how you party and drink, oh lord,

you must really be dishing it out. It takes some balls to be flashier than

Donald Trump in his city.

2. In the articles (and in other sites) he is a representative

of Majestic Masterpiece Sdn Bhd and

the Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia Investment Corporation.

Woah, if he was bankrolled, what a way to be bankrolled.

As for why, your guesses are as good as mine.

But hey, look here, I found some interesting links.

[Yes I'm a nerd and read and scour a lot]

 

We know, from the article, and from many google searches that Low

is in strategic investment house UBG Berhad. Details easily found here .

And that UBG is connected to Loh & Loh, Majestic Masterpiece (MMSB)

and …..

how Majestic Masterpiece and the Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia

Investment Corporation became substantial shareholders of UBG ….

Or how there is the Sarawak connection there …

Or how they took over Putrajaya Perdana among others ..

And that (once again), Low seems to be very well connected

to the Kuwaitis and Abu Dhabi big boys …

Like  UBG directors Yousef Al Otaiba and

Sheikh Sabah Mohd S. Al-Sabah. (They are all in

MMSB, along with Low, as you can see here)

Both men are partners in Abu Dhabi-Kuwait-Malaysia

Investment Corporation, of which Jho Low is a rep for,

as we’ve established already.

Otaiba is a prominent member of the United Arab Emirates inner

circle, while Sheikh Sabah is also a member of the ruling family of Kuwait.

Our King, and Terengganu Sultan, with the noble intentions

of increasing investments and opportunities within his state

and country, visited Kuwait and the Al Sabah family in December

2008, according to these Bernama pictures of the official visit.

What’s interesting is that Terengganu, as business circles know, has

formed its own Sovereign Wealth Fund.

This fund was reported late 2008 and early 2009 as

the Terengganu Investment Authority.

Its own CEO was sceptical at first too when he was asked to helm

TIA, as he had admitted here.

Many in the business scene also had doubts, as The Edge writes here.

Since then, TIA has transformed into the

1Malaysia Development Berhad, (whoah)

which has this written on this website,

1MDB forms equal-capital joint ventures in investments with high multipliers, especially energy, real estate, tourism and agribusiness. This business model is proven successful with an early indication of USD3 billion investments from the Middle East.

1MDB will continue to be swift in responding to rapid-changing global market, seizing opportunities before others do.

1MDB will have an initial funding of RM11 billion (USD3.13 billion). The first tranche of RM5 billion (USD1.7 billion) was raised in the capital market with the issuance of Islamic Medium Term Notes guaranteed by the Federal Government. 1MDB’s shareholders will determine the future funding for the balance.

That’s some big money.

Now. Here’s the thing. Wait a minute …

Is the last guy below in this Straits Times article, a Mr Joe Low,

the Jho Low merrymaking away in New York?

Joe Low

Another low-profile businessman, he was a key architect of a multibillion-ringgit sovereign wealth fund established by the state of Terengganu.

The fund, called the Terengganu Investment Authority (TIA), has sparked controversy because it will be created using borrowed money and not existing capital held by the state. It will raise capital from a RM5 billion (S$2 billion) bond issue, which will be guaranteed by the Malaysian government.

Little is known of Penang-born Mr Low, who a TIA official said is an adviser to Malaysia’s King, Sultan Mizan, and has close ties with several Middle East investment funds.

Is this the same guy, or is this some typo and mega huge coincidence?

If so, are our leaders seriously backing this young man? (Well he is apparently

just 28 years old)

[By the way, these companies mentioned are also involved,

along with bigtimers Mubdala Group, in the

Iskandar Development Region too]

I had flashes of two Hollywood stories I’ve read before,

but I won’t put there here, interested parties can

e-mail me.

 

 

The bottom line is …

Mr Jho Low is involved in some very serious Malaysia-Abu Dhabi-Kuwaiti

business co-operation.

Big business, big deals.

I guess perhaps I should be envious that he is using his

millions anyway he wants, including flushing

it down his (as well as) Usher’s, Lindsay Lohan’s digestive

systems, or shopping and buying expensive homes in NY

if he so chooses.

Isn’t someone who goes all

out to impress extremely well-known, international super stars in

very popular hot spots in one of the flashiest, grandest cities in the

world with such aplomb, overkill and excess fair game for these

questions?

Or perhaps we are being too paranoid, when we

should just accept (albeit with some serious envy) that Low

is having some  holiday fun, with some wealthy friends in

New York, a city that we would all love to go buckwild in.

In the Post article it did say after all, that it’s his Kuwaiti

friend Hamad Alwazzan who is belanja-ing him.

Is he a genuine financial genius at 28-years-old who we should

take lessons from, or not?

Am I just very good at finding links but have got it all

wrong and am just super jealous that someone is living it up

in the great New York City?

All I know is I am awake at 7am, having not slept because of

this post.

Great.

All I know is that I love links.

It’s all there.

 

 

 

 

Now for the serious stuff:

Disclaimer:

[If you're going to comment on this post, jangan mencaci, mencarut or

give me nonsense. After all my research & linking above,

don't give me excrement or I will delete your entry. I reserve the right to

delete any comment for any reason whatsoever (abusive, profane, rude,

or anonymous comments) – so keep it polite, please.]

[Also, all the above are merely my opinions, & I am not responsible for the comments below. Yes.]

Exploring Silat

I love being proud of my friends, and as of Tuesday,  18th August 

2009, I was practically combusting with pride for one

Mr Justin Ong Tat Tiong. He’d directed a documentary titled

“Fight Masters: Silat”, which had been approved by

National Geographic Channels International

(YES, like, oh I dunno, THE National Geographic?) 

as worthy for their distinguished stamp.

Tuesday was the launch, and some of us got

to watch the preview of the documentary.

 

The director and his BM speech. Hebat sungguh ucapannya!

The director and his BM speech. Hebat sungguh ucapannya!

 

Fight Masters: Silat was produced by local outfit GS Productions,

and Astro will be showing it as part of its 150 programmes in 

conjunction with Merdeka.

Essentially the one-hour high-definition documentary details

the journey of American Navy Serviceman Joel Champ

to Malaysia in the pursuit of his goal of becoming a top ranked Silat

Seni Gayong practitioner. We see the story through his eyes

and that of his ‘cikgu’ (mentor), as well as learn more about

Silat Gayong itself.

Gripping stuff, incredibly informative, and it even has

CGI and motion capture scenes to show you how

the silat moves can cause injury or death.

National Geographic Standards, jangan main you

National Geographic Standards, jangan main you

I was personally all ants-in-my-pants watching the documentary.

I am a documentary fanatic, and really should get the Astro

Max cause I keep frantically asking my friends to

record certain documentaries for me … and was eager to watch

Justin’s work. I was utterly pleased and most impressed

by the pacing (it’s always about pacing, I say) and

delivery of the story … it made me go Oooh and Ahh and

Ouchhhhh, and I wanted to google more things about

Silat etc. Isn’t post-googling always a good indication that

any show is a success? Very enjoyable and

fun to watch … we need more Malaysian documentaries!

Support & Congrats from Director's Gal

Support & Congrats from Director's Gal. They'd just embraced and she had said "I'm so proud of you." All together now... "Awwwww"

Shall not go into it any further, except to say, you must catch it.

How often can you say National Geographic documentary

ini, buatan Malaysia tau tak? 

Oklah, so there was ‘Becoming a King’ and ‘Smart Tunnel’,

which were also homegrown productions …. but I guess

this one’s a little extra special to me.

Congratulations again Dohbs, I’m super proud of you.

 

FIGHT MASTERS: SILAT will premier as part of the

Merdeka Specials programming, exclusively on National

Geographic Channel (Astro Channel 553) on

Monday 31 August at 9pm. It repeats on Friday, 11 Sept 2009

at 9pm and on Tuesday, 15 September, 9pm. 

Don’t miss it.

Dialogue: When you should beware of your friends

Dialogue:

 

X:  This guy is suing me for this accident a long time ago.

(Ensuing worried chatter with group of friends about

legal issues, implications, dates etc)

 

(Pause)

 

Jo:  Actually, I think I wanna go to the court and I’m gonna say

“Put him in jail man!!” Yeah, put your ass in jail!

 

Me: And you know what, actually I was in the car with you.

I’m going to say you were this and that and speeding and all

and that it was your fault. Can I extort money from you?

 

All: Muahahahahahahahaha

 

X: Some good friends you all are!

 

Jo: Eh I’m serious lah.

 

Me: I’m serious too wei.

 

X:     -_-

 

IMG_0677

Occasion: Malaysia versus Manchester United on their

Asian Tour, Round Two, Monday 20th July 2009.

 

Okay, so we arrived so damn early that it was all empty around us. We proceeded to camwhore and whine about how hot it was, the whiners we are.

Okay, so we arrived so damn early that it was all empty around us. We proceeded to camwhore and whine about how hot it was, the whiners that we are.

In Attendance: Pin, Jo, Wa, Farah, KT, Boy, Mun Chuan &

friends. And many many many Malaysia/ManU fans.

IMG_0678

Likes: Gendang Power for Malaysia!/ Balls flying over to

fans – fans keep ball. LOL /The 12 people in a whole

seating section that struggled to continue a stadium wave,

but did it! Several times!  / Malaysia doing pretty darn okay

in the second half / The guy who had the sign “FERGIE

PLEASE BUY AMRI” who was flashed on the big screen.

/ And finally. After everything was over, Rio Ferdinand

took off his shirt and the big screened focused for a bit

on him. Holy abs Batman. I think I lost my marbles

for a moment.

IMG_0679

Dislikes: No Negaraku (Eh!?) / Crowd not being silent to ‘One

Minute Silence for Jakarta bomb victims.’ (Seriously, that

was some crazy rudeness going on)  / Stretcher coming out

3 times for Malaysia team? (Not that bad, when Brazil

came to Malaysia I remember more came out LOL) / That

Malaysia didn’t score, Sigh / That there were louder shouts

for Owen than old timers Giggs, Neville and Scholes? 

But how can? / And finally, that I saw a lot of other jerseys and

I got  really jealous. Dahlah I couldn’t find my old 1995 one,

and the T-shirt with the Dream Team one (I still miss

Sparky, The Guvnor, Kanchelskis, Schmeichel etc!)

AND I couldn’t find my Jalur Gemilang. Jo was right,

I’m now a hopeless fan. Bad, useless girl!

IMG_0681

End of the night: We had some nice grub at Nasi Ayub’s

in Subang. For a lot of hearty nasi ayub and tom yam and

sup kambing (plus all our drinks), it came to RM10

per person. Aisehman, ini dipanggil value meal. Best.

 

xo