Straits Times interview a PR exercise for Jho Low

QUESTION TIME | Is the Singapore Straits Times (ST) so insipid or so desperate for clicks that it reprints old denials by Malaysian fugitive and thief Jho Low in an e-mail interview reiterating what he has said many times before - that he is not the mastermind behind the US$7 billion (RM28 billion) theft at 1MDB?

In an article written by veteran reporter Leslie Lopez, who is now its regional correspondent, ST said that Low, in breaking a long silence over his role in the global financial debacle, argued that the "inordinate amount of media scrutiny on me compared to that placed on the global financial and other institutions and advisers that actually organised and facilitated the fundraisings at issue is astounding".

According to the report, Low, 38, said that decisions to proceed with or reject any transaction were the responsibilities of shareholders, the management and boards of these companies that were also advised by international bankers, lawyers and other independent professionals.

But really, wouldn’t it be natural for anyone, not just the media, to point the fingers at Low if all the known flows of funds from this theft came into accounts controlled by Low himself? Would that not indicate that he was the mastermind? Yes, of course. The media attention on him is totally justified...