Who was Jho Low acting for?

Was he just an advisor? Or was he acting on behalf of someone else?

To me, one of the key questions in the 1MDB saga is how Jho Low got involved and became widely perceived to be linked to the whole 1MDB saga.

From the inception of 1MDB and earlier, Low was just about visible on the outside of 1MDB but not so visible inside, allowing both 1MDB and Low to claim each had nothing to do with the other.

And yet as The Edge and Sarawak Report have shown, Low was closely involved with first the Terengganu Investment Authority and then 1MDB’s wheeling and dealing at a time when he was already linked to UBG.

All this at a tender age or around 30. Unless he was a financial genius (but then he once recommended Enron as a hot tip during his Wharton days), he could have had powerful figures mentoring him or backing him up behind the scenes.

If so, who were the real brains behind 1MDB’s complex inter-company transfers and how did they go about it without falling foul of central bank regulatory oversight bodies?

Some people must have trusted Jho Low, son of veteran corporate tycoon Larry Low of MWE Holdings Bhd, enough to propel him straight to the inner circle. After all, what was his track record?

How did he climb rapidly up the corporate ladder, when it takes years for others, to a position where he appeared to be calling the shots? Sure he had Middle-East connections cultivated from Wharton days, some dabbling with Wynton Group and later his Jynwell Group, but how was that enough of a track record? Aren’t there more experienced financial experts in the country?

Back in 2009, this young man, who grew up in Tanjung Bungah, was among those said to be part of Najib’s inner circle.

By 2010, critics were already asking questions about his role in the Sungai Besi land deal. Tongues were wagging about the possible involvement of another powerful figure in the deal.

In 2011, Jho Low reportedly admitted he was a good friend of Rosmah’s as well.

What were his links to Taib Mahmud’s family? The Edge reported that the Javace takeover of UBG Bhd was “completed on 17 December 2010, and saw the family of then Sarawak chief minister Taib Mahmud exiting with RM465m cash”.

I beieve if we want to get closer to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal, Jho Low needs to answer some serious questions about how he got involved in all this, who was mentoring him (if any), who is advisors were, who he was really acting for (if anyone) and what his exact role was in this whole affair.

He should be the first one to appear before the PAC.