‘Nowhere they can hide’: Malaysia’s new hard-nosed police chief Abdul Hamid calls out 1MDB fugitive financier Jho Low

The career police officer, who was sidelined in 2015 by now-deposed leader Najib Razak for getting too close to the corruption scandal, promised the fugitive and his associates they would be safe if they came back

Wanted in Malaysia, Singapore and the US, some media reports say Low is living freely in China – but Beijing says it has no knowledge of his location

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Protesters hold portraits of Jho Low illustrated as a pirate during a protest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The new police chief has called the fugitive back to face charges in the 1MDB case. Photo: AP

Published: 3:41pm, 24 May 2019Updated: 6:15pm, 24 May 2019

Come back to face justice because you cannot hide forever – that was the message from Malaysia’s hard-nosed new police chief to fugitive financier Jho Low, believed to be the mastermind behind the country’s multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.

Appointed by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad earlier this month, Abdul Hamid Bador’s comments came amid heightened expectations that efforts would be intensified to complete the investigation and finally deliver justice on the whole notorious affair in coming months.

Abdul Hamid said on Thursday that his force was ready to offer Low, a cherubic Malaysian-born businessman, and his key lieutenants necessary protection if they chose to return home.

“We have laws [in this country], so return. Do not issue statements remotely through lawyers, denying this and that,” the national police chief was quoted as saying by the Malaysiakini news website.